Time to Shine
by A Nobody
Summary: EGOSHIPPY :: EGOSHIPPING :: Misty has hit rock bottom. She's alone, stuck on an unrequited love and trapped in Cerulean while Ash is in Hoenn with May. Just when she thinks that life has passed her by the chance of a lifetime strikes. What is a girl to do
1. Chapter 1

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: Oh man, Pokemon. I feel so old... oh well! This is going to be Egoshippy; yes you heard right, Misty + Gary! I think that Misty was a seriously awesome character and never really got her chance. That never stopped any other authors on so why in the hell should it stop me?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 1

Lost Heaven

----------

Have you ever noticed how time seems to stay trapped in a never ending pendulum-like limbo when you know that there's someplace you'd much rather be? Well, that's exactly how Misty Waterflower had felt for the past... oh it didn't even matter how long it had been now, just a damn long time. Wanting waiting yearning burning. Deep down inside she knew exactly the reason of this crazy jumble of emotion she was feeling. It seemed that everyone knew, actually; everyone except him.

She had seen him since their parting. It had been ridiculously brief, but it really didn't matter to her. She had to let go of her Togepi(tic), the pokemon she had raised since it hatched. Still didn't matter (well, maybe a little bit). But having to see another girl fitting in so well with the group dynamic- that was something that mattered. Misty would be the first to admit that she was possessive and this whole "May problem" was definitely ruffling her feathers, so to speak. But it was practically written in stone! Ash and Misty would live happily ever after, the end.

"Psh, happily ever after is for fairy tales."

Even so, it all seemed so perfect. She had been there since day 1. She had been by his side through all the gyms, and through the championships. She stayed by idly and put Misty on standby. Wouldn't it be obvious that he would one day see her through a new light? Apparently not. Ash was finally old enough to notice the fairer sex and she had to watch the gym! Misty knew that she didn't put years into this just to watch Ash make off like a bandit with jailbait on a stick!

Sometimes being a Gym Leader just didn't quite pay enough.

Misty cut her internal ranting short as she took notice of an official looking letter that had just been slid in through the mail slot. It had been a while since the Elite Four had actually sent her a letter, she didn't quite believe it at first. But she opened it none the less and as she skimmed the page she couldn't keep the smile off her face. She was just starting to get bored with beating young trainers all the time. And besides, who in their right mind would deny such an awesome honor?

_To: Misty Waterflower, Gym Leader of Cerulean City_

_Hello, and let me personally congratulate you. It is quite a great time to be a Gym Leader in this world. As you very well know, being a Gym Leader is no easy feat. Your social life gets put on hold and the only interaction you get usually comes in the form of young upstarts who want nothing more than to take you down. Take it from me, as hard as it may be for you imagine being in the Elite Four, so believe me when I say that your pain is felt. But alas, our reasons for contacting you have nothing to do with the pressures of life and it is indeed time for me to get to the point._

_While some might think that we do nothing here at the Indigo Plateau, those people are seriously mistaken. For the past year we have been planning for the single most important event that will rock the whole Pokemon community. And not just Kanto. We have made agreements and arrangements with both the Johto and the Hoenn Leagues. This is where you, Misty Waterflower, enter the picture. The event I'm speaking of will be an exhibition of sorts. We will be displaying the power of all the Gym Leaders and members of the Elite Fours throughout the three leagues. _

_We will be hosting a tournament here at the Indigo Plateau._

_Hotel arrangements have already been made, so don't stress yourself out over the nitty gritty. The tournament itself will take place next weekend, but I ask that you show up a week early unless there are special circumstances, in which case you will have to contact us directly. I'm requesting this for a multitude of reasons. There will be tons of press coverage and press conferences. But I also want you to be able to consider this week as a mini vacation where you can get to know fellow Gym Leaders from all over the land._

_In the meantime, I bid you farewell. Choose your pokemon well and I will see you real soon!_

_-Lance _

Misty scanned the letter over once more just to be sure she read right. The weekend after next... come a week early... today being Wednesday... wait! WEDNESDAY! She checked the date on the letter one more time. Yup! There was no doubt about it, she had 2 days to get up to the Indigo Plateau! That in itself wasn't necessarily the problem, though. The Indigo Plateau itself was only a few hours away by car.

What the hell would she bring! Now it's a true fact that Misty was a tomboy of sorts, but it's also true that Misty is a red blooded female. She wanted to look good! She had heard through the grapevine that some of those Hoenn Gym Leaders were quite the lookers. And with Ash currently busy with that "other girl" it was only fair that she be able to get a social life of her own.

With that thought in her head Misty smiled. She would get over Ash. She COULD get over Ash. Guys would be begging her for dates, she was a Waterflower! And if dating didn't work out then she would still win the tournament and come out on top!

She didn't quite realize it at the time, but that moment really was the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new.

It was now Misty's time to shine.


	2. Chapter 2

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: Ok, back with Chapter 2! I'm just gonna keep doing how I do and I can only hope that you readers are liking it. Reviews are REALLY helpful, and much appreciated. If you actually have a minute... yeah, I'm sure you've heard it before so I'll spare you. Much Love!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 2

Genesis of Next

----------

The next two days completely came and went and before Misty knew it her calendar read Friday. Not surprisingly, Misty was a jumble. Was she packed? Was the gym going to be ok? Did she choose the right pokemon? On that note she went over to her desk to recheck her pokeballs. The thing with being the Cerulean City Gym Leader was that most of your opponents came in the form of rookie trainers; and when dealing with rookies you had to know how to hold back and which pokemon would just pulverize the typical Bulbasaurs/Charmanders/Squirtles. These were the pokemon she would be bringing to the Indigo Plateau.

_Ring Ring Ring! Ring Ring Ring! Phone call! Phone call!_

Misty was brought out of her reverie with a start. Now who in the hell would be calling her NOW? She still hadn't made a train reservation and really had to go in the next hour or so if she wanted to make it there while there was still daylight. Just goes to show that even the all great Misty Waterflower wasn't too keen on wandering around alone at night.

"Hello." She was met with Tracy's face on the other line.

"Hi Misty. I know that this probably isn't a good time for you, but I was hoping to catch you before you left Cerulean."

"I'm assuming you know about the tournament then?" Tracy grinned.

"The perks of working with a professor. But oh yeah! Me and Professor Oak are actually at Bill's house right now. We're going to be leaving here in a few minutes to head over to the Indigo Plateau and wondered if you wanted a ride up there."

A smile broke out on Misty's face. She hadn't seen Tracy in a while and the two of them always had a blast when they got together. It was an offer she couldn't refuse.

"You bet, Tracy! I'll just lock up the gym right now."

"Great. We'll see you in about 10 minutes then."

"Ok, bye!"

Ten minutes later Misty was outside of the gym with her bags and all. Well, more like her bag actually but who's counting? As she was going over her mental checklist for the umpteenth time a Jeep pulled up. Misty looked up and saw it was indeed her ride and she quickly hopped into the back. Before any hellos could be said Misty quickly shoved a pokeball into Tracy's hand. He gave her a questioning look and her next two words said it all.

"It's Psyduck."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ride was certainly pleasant enough. Misty got a chance to see how close Tracy and Professor Oak had become over the past few years, they acted as if they were family. In a way, they were. It made Misty laugh as she remembered how Tracy had originally been Oak's #1 fanboy. Who would've thought he'd be living his dream years later?

"Man Misty you are so lucky. Participating in this tournament practically puts you into the history books." Misty laughed and shook her head.

"No, it puts my pokemon in the books. And the illustrations done by you will be what gets put into the history books."

"Hahaha, we'll see about that one. Which pokemon did you decide to bring along anyways?"

All Misty could do was smile.

"Secret!"

Even though she denied Tracy's earlier words she knew that he had a point. This tournament was really going to blow up and be a big deal once the general public found out. Shit, if they were already alerting the people as prominent as Professor Oak then she had no doubt that this would eventually turn into the event to be at for the who's who in the pokemon world. All of the hotels were probably already booked by now and she was lucky enough to just be _handed_ a room. It was pretty damn sweet once you thought about it like that.

But it wouldn't just come for free (in theory). She would have to put her best foot forward and show what she could do as a trainer. After all, all of her opponents would either be a Gym Leader or, even worse, a member of the Elite Four. Talk about unnerving.

She had met some of the other Gym Leaders on a few occasions. In fact, she was pretty well acquainted with all of the leaders from Kanto and Johto thanks to her travels with Ash. In terms of the Hoenn leaders it was a different story. Flannery from Lavaridge Town was actually one of her best friends, the two having met at some fancy shindig, but that was about it. She knew the faces and names, but had never actually really spoken to any of them one on one. Unfortunately, her main source of info was Flannery's gossip.

"Hello? Misty?" Tracy waved a hand in front of her face.

"Huh? Wha? What's going on?" Professor Oak turned around and smiled.

"We're in Pewter City. Take a minute to stretch your legs and buy some drinks, we're about to go through the Viridian Forest and I doubt you'll be able to buy anything there."

Misty nodded and hopped out of the car. She went over to the local Pokemart and grabbed a couple of lemonades. As she waited in line to pay she looked out the window... and saw the Pewter City Gym. It was a happy sight, and reminded her of memories long past. Flint, Brock's father and current leader of the gym, had probably left by now and hopped a train straight to the Plateau. She had never really seen the guy fight, and it would definitely be an interesting match when the time came.

"Um Miss, are you ready to pay?" Misty jumped.

"Oh yeah, sorry, eheh."

She quickly paid and went back to the Jeep. Tracy and Professor Oak were nowhere to be seen, but Misty figured they were just still out. They would probably be getting back soon, she figured, so why not just stay here and wait? Luckily enough, getting inside the car was just a matter of climbing into the back. When the pair still didn't show up Misty decided to kick back and maybe make her position a little bit more comfy. And while it was a good plan in theory Misty failed to take into account all of the missed hours of sleep she'd been dealing with due to the pre-tournament jitters. Before she knew it Misty had gone and fallen asleep.

You know, fear is quite the interesting thing. It's this horrible ball of burn that gets triggered by the most random of things. For some, it's heights. For Misty, it was BUGS. Creepy crawly little monsters that pretend to look cute and harmless but were really crazy axe murderers in disguise. Oh yeah, Misty knew the truth. She also "knew" that she had found a way to come to grips with this fear. Avoid them like the little plagues they were! A very simple plan that was practically foolproof. All she had to do was stay away from forests and tall grass; and, considering she was a water trainer, it was pretty easy to do.

However, nothing could prepare her for waking up in the middle of the Viridian Forest.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!"

"Misty?" Both men asked.

"GET THEM AWAY! DON'T LET THEM ANYWHERE NEAR ME! I HATE BUUUUUGS!"

Misty quickly took her jacket off and threw it over her head like a shelter and proceeded to look through her bag. Tracy could just watch as his friend quickly rifled through her bag. Every once in a while he could hear a mumbled "insect" or "pest" or even "squirmy bastards." Misty gave a girly squeak of happiness and emerged with a pokeball in her hand. With a maniacal grin on her face Misty stood up. Tracy and Professor Oak exchanged a look, but by then it was far too late.

"Go Gyarados! Use Hyper Beam and make this path bug free!"

The water dragon nodded and did as it was told. It gathered the energy inside its mouth and released it in a mighty Hyper Beam that would make any of Lance's pokemon jealous. The Hyper Beam flew down the pathway, instantly knocking out all of the unsuspecting Caterpies and Weedles. Newbie trainers then popped out of the bushes and threw their pokeballs, each scoring free bug pokemon. Misty sighed and smiled, suddenly feeling a lot better. Who said she couldn't conquer her fear of bugs?

Professor Oak cleared his throat.

"Um Misty, I don't really think that a Hyper Beam was necessarily the best course of action--"

He quickly shut up as Misty and Gyarados both turned their head to look at him quite menacingly.

The rest of Viridian Forest was smooth sailing. With no bug pokemon in sight Misty was feeling back to normal and resumed her earlier conversations with Tracy about anything and everything. Eventually, the Viridian Forest came to an end and Misty was only all too happy to say goodbye. Emerging from the forest was very interesting, though. Misty hadn't really realized how long they had been traveling for. By the time the Jeep had reached the outskirts of Viridian City the sun was already starting to set.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Misty was happy to see Viridian City. It had been a seriously long time since she had been there, but the city always brought a smile to her face. Since it was so close to Pallet Town but an actual city at the same time, Viridian City was always a pitstop when Ash would visit home. But, as nice as it was to reminisce, Misty was starting to seriously get confused. They had already missed the turn to the Indigo Plateau and instead had just went straight into town. Why make a pitstop here, she wondered, when the Indigo Plateau was only 30 minutes away?

"Um, excuse me Professor Oak. But, where are we going?" He chuckled.

"Just picking up one more straggler."

Before she could ponder on his words they pulled up at the Viridian City Gym. Misty smiled, now that had been one hell of a gym battle for Ash. But Giovanni had long since vacated this Gym, right? Now that she thought about it she couldn't really remember who the Viridian City Gym Leader was. The position had been passed around to a few different people, but it seemed like no one was too keen on staying. But why would this involve Professor Oak? Oh well, she would know in a minute or two anyways; seeing as someone was now walking towards the car. Hang on! That wasn't...

"Oh great! I love lemonade!"

And with that Gary Oak grabbed Misty's lemonade and downed it in one gulp.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To say shocked would be an understatement. It had to have been at least 2 years since the last time she had seen Gary Oak. She had heard about him, sure. But what was a pokemon researcher doing as a gym leader? If she was in a calmer state of mind she just might ask him about it but this wasn't the case. The Jeep was now back on the road and already the two seemed to be clashing. It wasn't exactly surprising, they were both quite the stubborn hotheads; and this is just how stubborn hotheads said 'hello.'

"Would you move your stupid legs!"

Misty then tried to move the legs that Gary had casually propped into her lap.

"Aw geez Red, if you wanted to feel me up all you had to do was ask!" Misty fumed.

"MIS-TY. M-I-S-T-Y. Not Red, you insufferable pig!"

Misty was 2 seconds away from turning the "Oak Pig" into Gyarados chow. And, if not that, she was ready to wring his neck real hard. Feeling him up, yeah right! SO she might've felt a little more thigh then was absolutely necessary. But she sure didn't put her hand there initially! Stupid Gary Oak. As if the heavens above felt her wrath, she suddenly heard her phone beep. She temporarily forgot her anger to see what was up with her phone. As it turned out she had a new text message... from Tracy.

_Mist-_

_He's really not that bad of a guy if you actually talk to him. He's only teasing, believe me, I've known him for a while now. Just try to forget about his history with Ash and give him a fair chance. Please?_

_-The Handsome Man-Stud in the Front Seat_

She rolled her eyes as she read his choice of name. But did he actually have a point? Was she being a bit unfair to Gary because of his relationship with Ash? And even more to the point, if she was going off of preconceived notions wouldn't that mean she was failing in her promise to herself. How was she supposed to get over the "Ash Era" if she held grudges that weren't even hers to begin with. Well, that settled it. New chapter, Take Two!

"Listen Gary, I don't really want to fight with you. Shit, I don't even know you! So can we just, I dunno, start over?"

"You know, I really can't say no to a pretty lady." He sent her a wink.

She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders.

"Whatever you say, Oak."

Much to Misty's surprise the two of them actually hit it off pretty well. Gary really was a smart guy, and she figured that all of the rumors about him being an up and coming professor were true. He seemed to know everything about everything pokemon; but, oddly enough, seemed to always change the subject when she asked him what it was that he was studying in particular. Whatever, it was probably some man pride thing. It was during one such change of topic where he asked the question that she knew would come but wasn't really ready for.

"So, what's the deal with you and Ash anyways?"

She raised an eyebrow and looked at him. He stared right back. She could tell that he really wanted to know, it really was a hot topic; she even saw Tracy slightly turn in his seat to better hear her answer. It was an odd thing, really, she had always kept her Ash feelings to herself. She didn't really discuss it with anybody, not even Brock, yet here she was about to answer Gary's question. She couldn't explain it but it was just really easy to talk to the guy... even if he was an insufferable flirt.

"I'm not with him, if that's what you're asking. I liked him, as I'm sure you know, but he was always too focused on pokemon to take notice of ANY female, let alone me. I don't blame him, though, being a Pokemon Master is his dream. I just got fed up with waiting around for him."

"So it doesn't have anything to do with the girl he's traveling with now, May was it?"

"Well, I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt. But no, it's not because of her. I just woke up one day and realized that there are tons of other fish in the sea that I completely ignored because of Ash. Let's just say that I'm ready to go fishing."

Their conversation was cut short as the Jeep finally reached the Indigo Plateau. By now the sun had set and the group (Professor Oak especially) was kind of weary from all of the driving. They got out of the car and grabbed any bags that were brought along and the group went into the hotel. Luckily enough, the lobby was empty and there was no line at the reservation desk. Card keys were distributed and the rooms were in opposite directions. The Oaks, of course, were rooming in the Presidential Suite whereas Misty was assigned a Deluxe Suite. She didn't really know why they bothered giving her a Deluxe Suite to herself, but who was she to argue?

"Well, I guess this is goodnight then."

Misty gave Tracy a hug and then turned to Gary.

"I guess I'll see you later, Gary." He grinned.

"Count on it."

She rolled her eyes and headed to her room. She was really tired and all she wanted was a soft bed. A lot of things had happened over this past day and she would think about it in the morning. But for now, sleep was calling.


	3. Chapter 3

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: Hello all! I don't really have much to say this time around, sorry if anyone found Misty to be OOC. I'm trying to stay true to the character while also keeping her in tune with an average teenage girl. I think I'm putting her and Gary around 17 years old, making Ash 16. But I'm not quite sure yet, so don't quote me just yet.

**Beware of Dark Lugia** I love you. My one, and only, reviewer! You rock my socks.

Review and Be Super Loved!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 3

Fairytales Tell Tales

----------

Misty was awakened the next morning by an annoying banging on her door. She tried rolling over and ignoring it, but that never really seems to work anyways. She eventually gave in and went to answer her door. She had just a tiny inkling suspicion as to who would intentionally ram on her door to annoy her and when she opened the door all she could do was raise an eyebrow at the grinning face of Gary Oak.

"Want to get some coffee?" she glared.

"You woke me up for THIS!"

"Hey! Calm down, Red, I'm trying to be nice! I didn't even comment on your crappy appearance!"

Misty looked down and saw she was still in her pajamas and her hair a mess.

"ARG!"

She slammed the door in his face and reemerged 5 minutes later. Looking quite uncrappy I might add.

There was a coffee shop attached to the hotel so it wasn't really a big struggle to find a place to go. It was seriously a pokefan's wet dream in there: at one table there was Lt. Surge, Blaine and Wattson sharing war stories and jokes, Norman was eating alongside Koga, his daughter Janine and her (rumored) boyfriend Falkner. But probably the best of all was a little booth in the corner where Clair was catching up with her cousin Lance. Misty and Gary shrugged their shoulders and took a seat at an empty table, really craving coffee at the moment. They quickly ordered and waited for their liquid fuel to arrive.

"So Gary, I've been meaning to ask, how did you end up as a gym leader?"

"Well, I already told you that I'm working as a pokemon researcher now, right?" She nodded.

"It's all great and dandy for me, but my pokemon hate it. What fun is it for them to watch a Metapod evolve without training? I had heard about the Viridian Gym and kind of put two and two together. I'd be able to train my pokemon regularly while also having a stable base to conduct my research. Living right by Pallet Town was just an added perk."

"I see. That's so cool!"

It seemed that more people were waking up as the room started really filling up. It made sense, though, the entire hotel was practically booked. As Misty watched the people coming in she noticed a familiar red ponytail sticking up. She gave Gary a lopsided smile then stood up and hailed her buddy over to their table.

"Flannery!" The redhead looked up and smiled as she saw Misty.

"Hey Misty, I was hoping I'd bump into you!"

Flannery headed over to join Misty and Gary, but it seemed that she wasn't alone. She came with two people that Misty had never met before. First was a well muscled guy with light blue hair and some seriously dreamy eyes. Then there was a girl that was wearing a bizarre dress (in Misty's opinion) and seemed to be content with staring at Gary. Misty raised an eyebrow but kept her mouth shut.

"Sorry, where are my manners? This is Brawly, super rad Gym Leader of Dewford Town; and this is-"

"ROXANNE! Oh wow it IS you!" Gary interrupted.

"Hehehe, Hi Gary."

The Hoenn leaders then pulled up chairs and joined the pair. There was conversation all around and friendships were quickly being made. Brawly was like a surfing teddy bear, if that made any sense at all. And Roxanne, well... despite Misty having a dislike for flirty girls, thanks in part due to her sisters, she couldn't not like the girl, she was just a nice person! As an hour came and went Misty was starting to get restless. Gary and Roxanne were still chatting animatedly, but Brawly and Flannery looked like they were ready to get moving as well. She kicked Flannery under the table and motioned her head towards the door.

"WELL, I'm ready to head out. You wanna come, Misty?" Flannery asked.

"Sure, let's go."

Gary turned his head towards her, ready to protest, but Roxanne pulled him into another conversation. Misty quickly took her chance and got up to join Flannery and Brawly. She couldn't help but be a little ticked off: Gary had woken her up just to take her out then turns around and completely ignores her, who wouldn't feel snubbed? She was too busy walking away to notice the apologetic look he sent to her back.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Indigo Plateau was one of the best places in the world for tourists. There was multiple food stands, shopping stands and any kind of other stand you want to think of. All that yet they still had enough forests and parks to make you feel at ease. There was this surreal feeling about the place, it was almost too great. Only the best trainers get to stay here, and usually only for the League Games. The only people that were only here full time were the Elite Four themselves. And they had probably seen everything and weren't in the current rut Misty, Flannery and Brawly were facing: where to go first?

"So Misty, what's up with you and that Gary Oak guy?" Flannery asked.

"Me and Gary? Hahaha, before you ask a question like that it's probably best that you understand the whole story. First off, I'm not with him. Second off, I have had nothing but bad luck with guys in the past yet still seek them out--"

Brawly quickly interrupted.

"Um, I think I'll be back in a bit."

Flannery and Misty looked at each other as they watched Brawly run away as fast as he could.

"Was it something I said?" Misty asked and cocked her head.

"Oh never mind him. You said you were seeking out guys, what about Ash? What was it you said again?"

And in a bad Misty imitation Flannery continued.

"His eyes are so passionate and he's so caring, I swear I love him. That's why I don't flirt around, Flannery, I have Ash. What more could I want?"

Misty grumbled to herself. She remembered that conversation pretty well. Ash had made his way to Flannery's gym and had won his Heat Badge. Apparently right after he had left she rushed to the phone and called Misty. Flannery's opinion of Ash was a little less than what Misty had hoped for ("great trainer, but he's really dense, girl; and short, he's so short!") and she suggested that there were better guys out there for her ("maybe someone who's not such a... goober!"). Naturally, she had come to Ash's defense immediately. That had been about 9 months ago. Things had definitely changed since then.

"I still think he's a goober."

Well, maybe some things stayed the same.

"Hahaha, well Ash's 'gooberness' is no longer my concern. I promised myself that I would get over him. It's just hard, you know, I haven't even _looked_ at other guys like that in so long."

"What made you change your mind?" Flannery asked curiously.

"I'm just ready to get on with my life. I've been so dedicated to helping Ash attain his dreams that I lost sight of mine. If it wasn't for this tournament I'd probably be at home still pitying myself."

"What does the tournament have to do with it?"

"It'll probably sound stupid, but for the past year or so I've been sulking around the gym feeling like I had no purpose. When I read my tournament invite I suddenly felt like I had purpose again; and once that happened it felt like I had woken up from a coma or something, haha, like I was in a movie or some shit. But yeah, I woke up and finally felt like myself. And the real Misty Waterflower does not do the self pity thing."

"Now that sounds about right. I've been telling you that you're way too smart for him. He's really nice, but if you ask me he's too absorbed in pokemon. Boyish charm can only go so far, eventually a guy needs to step up, and a girl should only wait for so long. You have overkilled the role of 'the waiting girl.' You don't even realize what you have going for you!"

Misty smiled at the other girl. Misty really felt like they had to be sisters in another life. In the past two days she had opened up about her feelings for Ash twice, something that she hadn't even been able to talk to Brock or Daisy about. She just had a feeling deep inside, this tournament was seriously a blessing in disguise. And having an awesome friend like Flannery was just a part of the blessing. She felt lighter, as if finally talking about Ash made it less of a constant pain. It was then that realization hit her- she really was over Ash.

He was still there, inside her, and always would be. He played such a vital part in her life that there was no way he would ever disappear. But it was securely in her memories now. She knew that she would no longer dream about moments in time from years long since past. She knew that she would no longer wish that these dreams were real and that she had stumbled into a time machine. Ash would ALWAYS be one of her best friends, and for the first time since meeting him she could honestly say that without secretly wishing for more.

"Ok, so back to my other question. Gary Oak. What's up?" Flannery grinned.

"Geez, I don't get a break, do I? We are friends. Gary is from Pallet Town, like Ash, and the two have been rivals for millions of years. I only really met Gary last night."

"Oh."

Now it was Misty's turn to grin.

"What about you and Brawly?" Flannery looked confused.

"What about me and Brawly?"

"How about the fact that he is seriously hot and a total sweetheart!" Misty all but screamed.

"... OH! You're asking if Brawly's my boyfriend! Hahaha, no way! I've known him for way too long!"

"Really?"

"Yuppers! My grandpa used to be in the Elite Four. He was great friends with Master Bruno, who was Brawly's mentor. I've literally known Brawly since we were kids."

"And you two never-" Misty started.

"Nope. The closest thing we've ever had to a relationship are the playdates we made when I was 7."

This shocked Misty. She was so sure that they were together! They were both young, good looking Hoenn Gym Leaders. But then again, Misty was quickly learning, first impressions could be seriously deceiving. As she listened to Flannery talk about their adventures from when they were younger it made her really miss Brock. He had been 'the buddy' whereas Ash had been 'the crush' in their little group. She doubted that there was a single persona live who knew her as well as Brock did. And she was positive that Flannery felt the same way about Brawly.

"-Yeah, so now Brawly's chasing the Misdreavus around with a stick demanding it bring back our sandwiches! It was so funny!"

The two girls started laughing, but Flannery abruptly stopped. Misty gave her a confused look, yet Flannery seemed lost in thought. She quickly regained her senses, though, and quickly turned to Misty with a fat grin on her face.

"You think Brawly's a hottie!" Misty quickly blushed.

"It's not like that! Well, not the way you think! Yeah he's hot! But so's Lance, are you gonna pester me on him, too?"

"Possibly. But not right now, I just came up with a brilliant idea!"

Before Misty knew it she was being pulled towards the hotel. She didn't know what Flannery's plan was, or even if she would like it; but what did she have to lose? She just sighed and let herself be lead, laughing the entire way.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh where is it? I know I packed it! See Misty, I was thinking of you, Hahaha!"

Misty heard Flannery's voice from behind the suitcase and shrugged. After being dragged through the hotel they ended up at this Deluxe Suite. It was Flannery's room, apparently. Misty found it strange, though, that there were other bags in this room. I seemed as if Flannery had roommates yet she still didn't. She started to wonder why, but stopped herself. Who really cared? She had a Deluxe Suite all to herself!

"Here it is!" Misty looked at Flannery.

"Clothes?"

"Yeah, I've had this shirt for awhile, but it never really seemed right for me. I think it'd be great for you, though, so I packed it!"

She gave a victory/peace sign and shoved Misty into the bathroom with the shirt. Misty glanced at the folded shirt in her hand. It was black, that was for sure; but when she opened it she couldn't help but smile. It would be an exact copy of Flannery's shirt except for one small detail- the fire symbol was now a water symbol that looked a whole lot like the Cascade Badge. She loved it.

"Wow I love it! Thanks Flannery!" Flannery sighed.

"Oh man, those yellow shorts look really bad with that shirt. Hang on-"

She fished inside her luggage again.

"-take these. I'm pretty sure we're the same size."

Misty caught the pants thrown at her. They were baggy, true to Flannery's style, but still balanced on her petite waistline. After she put them on she took a quick look in the mirror and was honestly impressed with her reflection. She wasn't as curvy as her sisters, but the outfit sure made her look good. She would have to get used to showing this much stomach; she had no idea how Flannery did it all the time. Speaking of Flannery, they were kind of like twins now! Only fire and water! Hahaha, Misty had to admit it- she absolutely LOVED this outfit.

"Misty! Let me see!" Flannery called through the door.

"Coming! So, what do you think?" She jumped out.

"Nice... except for one thing-"

She took out Misty's ponytail.

"-there. You're a knockout, Mist." Misty smiled.

"No. We're knockouts."

The two girls then did a really corny Team Rocket-esque pose then started laughing like hyenas on prozac. Good times were rolling, that was for sure. The two of them decided to leave the hotel and check out more of the Indigo Plateau. They had only just left the hotel when they ran into Morty. He looked kind of dazed for a second, then smiled. It seemed that Morty was on a mission, and for once it had nothing to do with Ho-ohs.

"Misty, I've been looking for you. Well more like Gary's looking for you and asked me to help."

Misty was already down the block by the time he finished his sentence. So Gary was looking for her, fine! Let him keep looking because as far as she was concerned Gary was a thoughtless chump. She grumbled a few incoherent Gary insults and they continued on their way.

"I take it you're still mad at him for ignoring you."

"Yup."

"But he's not your boyfriend?"

"Nope."

"Then why should it even matter?"

Misty sighed. Flannery _did_ have a point, he only asked if she wanted to get coffee. And technically, they did get coffee so he didn't break his word. But it still pissed her off to be blown off for Roxanne. She would have thought this out further, but stopped as she saw Brawly running to meet them.

"Hey guys, I told you I'd be back." Flannery rolled her eyes.

"Took you long enough." He smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry. But oh yeah! Misty this is for you. You look great, by the way."

He then shoved a single, white rose into her hand. Attached to it was a note.

_Misty_

_I only met you, but you seem like a really nice girl. I bet you'll be one of my best friends by the end of this. I'm not sure if the rose is a little much. After all, I'm not looking for a date with you. I just heard you mention that all your past experiences with guys have been bad. This is just a reminder to keep hope, we're not all pigs. I promise._

_Brawly_

Misty smiled and looked at Brawly. He was scratching the back of his head and laughing nervously. All she could do was laugh and give him a hug in thanks. No guy had ever done anything this thoughtful for her since Brock showed up at her Gym with a cake on her 16th birthday. She was once again reminded of the similarities between the two. It was like she now had two big brother figures... only one of them was really hot.

It wasn't too odd to consider a guy to be both a brother and a hottie at the same time, right?

Right?


	4. Chapter 4

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: Ok, I'm ready for this next chapter. I'm sorry that the last chapter was so Ash oriented, I just wanted to tie up that loose end. And now that I have this can get fun!

Oh, and about Brawly. I debated about it for a long time before deciding that I'd kind of put him into a brother/close friend role to Misty. At least for now. And on that note I wanted to address something real quick. I'm drawing my influences from both the anime and the pokemon games. In fact, more from the games (the anime just kind of seems blah to me now) and so I haven't really seen all of the gym battles and the anime personalities. Personally, I'm having a lot of fun bringing life into the Gym Leaders and I'm trying to keep them true to how they were in the game while still adding my own fiction (ex. Flannery and Brawly knowing each other since childhood).

Yay, I went from 1 to 6 reviews (thanks **Alyssa**)! I like to answer every question I get so here goes:  
**Beware of Dark Lugia**, I'm going to bring Ash into the mix but not for a little while yet.  
**Alyssa**, I'm thinking about 15 or so chapters. A lot more to go!

Oh, if anyone wants to make a fanart of Misty in her new outfit I'd be happy to give you props and direct the readers your way!

And lastly (finally!), please review. You know I love it.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 4

As the World Falls Down

----------

Misty woke up the next morning feeling pretty tired. She had been out late into the night with Flannery and Brawly. There was just so much Indigo Plateau to see, and the three of them had stupidly thought that they could conquer it in one night. Oh well, lesson learned. She got up and checked the clock. WHAT! 12:00! It couldn't already be noon, could it? Misty quickly jumped out of bed and put her clothes on. She no longer felt nervous about her bare midriff: having Brawly tell you that you looked good was a more effective ego boost than Gary Oak looking in the mirror.

Speak of the devil. Right as she finished her thought someone started pounding on her door. Really impatient pounding, too. Misty rolled her eyes, already knowing who it was, and went to answer her door.

"Hello Gary." She said in a flat voice.

"You know, you're a very hard person to find, Misty."

"Only when I don't want to be found."

She went back into her room, leaving Gary standing in the doorway. Gary, never being one to care about proper etiquette, barged right in after her. Misty wasn't exactly surprised that followed her, but she honestly wished he hadn't. She felt pretty ticked off at him yet she didn't even understand why she was so mad to begin with! It was ridiculously frustrating and Misty didn't even want to ponder on it all. The only thing that really mattered at the moment was getting all of the tangles out of her hair.

"What's that supposed to mean? I don't even know why you're so pissed off at me!"

Misty continued to brush her hair as Gary made himself comfy. She heard him bouncing on her bed then the bouncing stopped. She turned to look at him only to see him staring at the white rose on her bedside table.

"Who gave this to you?"

"A friend. What business of it is yours anyways?" He smirked.

"None I guess. I was just going to comment that your _friend_ has bad taste. Any real man would know that you're supposed to buy a girl a red rose."

Misty puffed up. She didn't know what kind of game he was playing at, but she really didn't want to play along. He really had no right to insult Brawly for doing something sweet for her; and, true to Misty form, her temper sneaked out and her big mouth got the best of her. The words hadn't left her mouth before she already regretted them.

"You know what Gary, you're a jerk. I'll have you know that while you were busy chatting up Roxanne I was having some fun of my own. I was feeling just a bit on the gloomy side and, it may come as a shock to you, this guy was actually paying attention to how I was feeling! He went out to buy me that rose just to cheer me up! It was a sweet gesture and it made me smile, so you can take your insults and jam them up your ass for all I care!"

Misty never realized until now that Gary wore a well convincing mask every day of his life. Unfortunately, it came with a price. After she finished her tirade Gary initially looked like he wanted to scream at her. In fact, Misty was expecting it and was already making rebuttals in her head. But that look was quickly replaced by a sad, downcast expression. At first Misty thought he was faking and kept her distance, arms up in a defensive position as if she were blocking herself from bad Gary vibes. It wasn't until a minute had passed when Misty realized that he really was sad and it really was her fault. She was seriously regretting her words by now and was about to make a move to apologize when the impossible happened. Gary Oak suddenly looked up and smiled, genuinely smiled!

"So it was because of Roxanne that you..."

He cut himself off and put the smirk back in place. It all happened so fast that Misty was starting to doubt that he had even smiled at all.

"You were jealous!" She rolled her eyes.

"Please. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You have no idea what you were _assuming_ about either. Roxanne lived with my family for a couple of years when we were younger, she was my Grandpa's number one student! I hadn't seen her in almost 10 years! And you actually thought..."

He started laughing at the top of his lungs. Misty glared, but Gary didn't even notice. Misty then decided to switch tactics and gave Gary a coy smile.

"You know, if i remember right I wasn't the only one assuming wrong. You sure got quiet at the thought that I'd landed myself a rose giving boyfriend."

She smiled triumphantly as Gary stopped laughing; but it quickly turned into a sigh when she noticed he was still smirking to himself. The guy was ridiculously exhausting. But, she had to admit, life sure wasn't boring when he was around. Gary kept her on her toes; wondering, and occasionally dreading, what would come next. And although Gary seemed to think fucking with her was a recreational activity she knew that, when all was said and done, he considered her to be a friend and that was enough to make her laugh. That smirk of his could be really adorable at times.

"Stop smirking, Oak." He opted to wink instead.

"Ok, but only for you. I don't know why you hate it so much, though, most girls would have melted into my arms by now."

Ugh! The nerve of him! Misty had just opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind when she felt herself being cut off again.

"What's that, Red? You want me to spend the day with you? You know I'm a very busy man, you can't honestly expect me to drop everything for you!"

She gave him a bored look and he cut the act.

"Seriously. I feel bad about blowing you off yesterday, I didn't mean to piss you off so bad. And hey, I tried finding you but you said it yourself- you weren't trying to be found."

Misty couldn't believe her ears. First he goes and smiles (at least she thought he did) and now he's feeling remorse? Maybe he was feverish. She put her hand to his forehead. Nope, his head felt pretty normal to her. Maybe guys had some kind of period that made their brain chemicals go out of wack? She thought about asking Gary, but it didn't really seem like such a good idea. But, whatever the case, he was being nice. Who knew that under all of the arrogance a sweetheart existed?

"Oh, and by the way, I forgot to mention that you almost look good enough to pass as my girlfriend in that outfit. I only date the best, you know."

But then again, she could always be wrong.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pair eventually left Misty's room and walked to the elevator. For once neither one really had anything to say. It was silent, but it was a really comfortable silence. The elevator came in its own time and brought the duo to the main lobby. To say it was chaotic would be an understatement. It seemed that the world finally heard about the tournament and was now hanging around the hotel, hoping that something interesting would happen. Somewhere in the crowd Bugsy's head appeared. Misty and Gary both blinked their eyes as he approached.

"Press conference! It starts in 5 minutes so get to Room 1111!"

They watched the short Gym Leader run off, presumably to tell the other Gym Leaders the news. Room 1111 was pretty close to the Lobby, so it was easy enough to get there. It was a simple set up, really. It kind of resembled an auditorium, with a stage and seats for an audience (where hella reporters were already waiting). On the stage there were two horizontal rows of chairs. The front row had 11 chairs. Misty figured that they were for the 3 sets of Elite Fours, Bruno splitting his time between Kanto and Johto. That left the back row for the Gym Leaders. Misty laughed, knowing that someone would snap a picture of it; and that picture would probably be front page news the very next day.

"Ms. Waterflower! Back here!"

Misty looked up and saw Pryce hailing herself and Gary. It appeared that everyone was hiding in the 'backstage' area. She thanked Pryce and went to search for Flannery. It was pretty hard, though, there were so many people crammed into a small space. She made sure she grabbed onto Gary's hand so that they wouldn't be separated. She had no luck in finding Flannery, but ended up bumping into Sabrina instead.

"Sabrina, why are we all hiding back here?" Sabrina stayed blank.

"Lance wants us all to enter at once. He said it would add to the dramatic effect."

"Sounds like something Juan would come up with, if you ask me." Misty mumbled, Gary nodded.

All musings were cut short as a wild wave of applause came over the room. It seemed that Lance and the others had made their grand entrance.

"Hello everyone, and thank you. I am honored to be standing here today as the spokesperson of the Pokemon League. This is a monumental event, and we are all excited to finally see months of planning starting to come to fruition. For the first time in history, the Kanto, Johto and Hoenn regions stand united as one big supernova. To further emphasize my point let me now present to you the Gym Leaders, the real backbone of this industry."

It was Grand Entrance time!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The entrance was amazing. Lance was right- the crows went wild seeing all the gym leaders appear at once. Cameras were flashing and Misty felt like a superstar. Oh, it was great. But that was hours ago. The press conference had gotten really boring really fast and now all Misty wanted to do was make a quick escape and hit the bathroom. Being a gym leader was no easy feat but it was obvious who the reporters were there for. Nothing would ever beat the thrill of having the top 11 trainers in the nation just sitting there answering questions. After a couple of hours of QnA it seemed as if they were feeling the strain. Lance quickly stood up and cleared his throat, everyone immediately went silent.

"That's enough questions for today. I'm pretty sure we've answered enough to give you at least 3 full interviews. But, before you go home we will give you one more treat: a full fledged exhibition match!"

The reporters went wild asking questions. Lance ignored them and instead nodded to Sabrina, who then stood up.

"Alakazam go! Teleportation."

Misty briefly saw Alakazam move his spoons before her vision went blank. All she could see was white. She grabbed Gary's hand and he gave a reassuring squeeze. What the hell was he so calm about?!? The next thing she knew everyone who was in Room 1111 was now front and center in the Indigo Plateau's main Battle Arena. She felt kind of foolish for worrying earlier but quickly brushed it off; after all, most people would think something was off if their vision suddenly went white. But even more alarming was the sheer power of Sabrina's Alakazam. It not only teleported everyone, but it somehow sorted and placed the group- the press were seated in the rafters while everyone else were in the center of the arena.

Everyone was confused, not knowing what to expect next. Blake, leader of the Hoenn Elite Four, spoke up to clear the confusion.

"We will host a match here today to give the world a preview of what to expect this coming weekend. Tate and Liza please come forward."

The brother and sister duo walked towards Blake. He whispered a few things to them and they nodded.

"We will have two other gym leaders take on Tate and Liza in a doubles match. The first of these two will be chosen by them. So, who would you guys like to battle?"

Tate looked thoughtful for a second, but his sister didn't give him a chance to speak. It seemed that somebody had a little crush.

"Gary Oak!" the blushing Liza declared.

The papparazos went wild and Gary shrugged his shoulders. He mumbled something that sounded really similar to "piece of cake." Misty giggled and watched him go to one end of the battlefield. By this time the other trainers had gravitated to spots where they weren't in the soon-to-be direct line of fire. It seemed as if everyone was excited about this match, the gym leaders themselves had no idea of its existence until now and were all watching with a keen eye. This was the first actual opportunity they had to size up the competition.

"Now, Gary Oak, who will be your partner? It seems unfair to pair you up randomly so I will leave this decision to you."

Misty heard giggling all around her. To be honest, it didn't really shock her. As long as she had known Gary he had attracted females. But in the way he looked at her just then she knew exactly who was going to be his partner. Tough luck ladies, maybe next time.

"Well that's easy. I choose Misty of Cerulean City."

Immediately all eyes turned to her. She saw Flannery giving her a look that just screamed 'I told you so!' She ignored her and walked to Gary's side. He gave her a fat grin and she just shook her head at him. Then the rules were read. It would be a 2 on 2 match, no time limits. Sounded easy enough.

"Solrock! Lunatone! GO!" Tate and Liza shouted in unison.

"Come out Umbreon!"

Umbreon eh? Misty knew just the pokemon to match it (big surprise). Besides, her opponents were practically children, there was no wrong choice!

"Vaporeon, I choose you!"

It was on. The opening moves were made as Misty tried to rack information in her head. Solrock and Lunatone were psychic and rock types, if memory served right. That meant she had a type advantage! These thoughts were temporarily forgotten as Vaporeon was hit by a nasty Psybeam sent by Liza's Lunatone. It seemed as if Liza wanted to destroy Misty head on.

"Vaporeon don't take that! Bubblebeam!"

Lunatone took the hit right on, yet it still stood strong. Misty hated to admit it but it was a well trained pokemon. She glanced to the side to see Umbreon taking a massive beating. As much as she wanted to help it out she couldn't, her hands were pretty tied with Lunatone. It would be ok, though, Umbreons had amazing defense and it was a fact Misty was positive Gary was well aware of. Maybe he had a plan? Maybe she should pay attention to her own battle! Lunatone was powering up and had fired off another one of its Psybeams.

"Vaporeon hurry, use your modified Bubblebeam!"

The two beams met in a colossal 'boom.' It was now a battle of might, to see which pokemon would outlast the other. The crowd went silent and just watched the purplish circle increase in size. For a few second all was good then suddenly Misty heard a whooshing noise and Solrock had teleported right behind Vaporeon. Misty gasped! Vaporeon had no way of dodging and Solrock was too close to be stopped. Misty sighed, knowing it was her own fault; she shouldn't have underestimated her opponent(s). They were young, but they were _still_ gym leaders.

"Solrock finish it. Use Psychic." Tate said.

Misty closed her eyes, ready for the worst. But then Gary's voice suddenly made her eyes snap open.

"Umbreon Double Team now and make sure you absorb all of that Psychic attack."

Gary's plan worked. Vaporeon remained unharmed and half of Umbreon's clones were wiped out instead. Misty had to hand it to Gary, his Umbreon was amazingly well trained. A normal pokemon could create up to 10 clones at once, but Umbreon had magically created 14! So with half of them gone there were still 7 Umbreons running around the field. Solrock was looking around, confused as to why its attack missed. It seemed that Umbreon's speed trumped Solrock's by far.

"Bite it now while its still confused!"

Umbreon bit and Solrock couldn't block. Tate told Solrock to recover and Misty and Gary exchanged a look of 'oh shit' when luck decided to go their way. The Psybeam/Bubblebeam exploded in a stalemate blast, but it was effective enough to stop Solrock's recover. As the smoke cleared Misty was left grinning. Gary, confused for a second, followed her eyes and couldn't help laughing himself.

"Umbreon clones, shoot off as many Shadow Balls into the sky as you can!"

A loud mumble went through the onlookers, not understanding why Gary would do such a crazy attack. It wasn't even aimed at an enemy! But the smoke caused by the blast quickly cleared and Gary's attack suddenly made sense. Misty's modified version of a Bubblebeam caused the beam to disappear while the bubbles remained. It was something that was meant for a Pokemon Contest, really. An array of bubbles and shadow balls were raining from the sky like the first snow of winter. Beauty and deadly were never really a good combo.

Lunatone and Solrock never stood a chance. They looked to their trainers for answers but what could be done? They couldn't hide, round balls of doom were falling everywhere; and it'd be pointless to recover because there was just too many of them. Then there was the serious type advantages: bubbles were water and water was strong against rocks, shadow balls were ghost and ghost attacks were strong against psychic types.

Within the first minute of round balls of doom Solrock and Lunatone had fallen. Drake held up his arm. It was over.

"Solrock and Lunatone are unable to battle. Umbreon and Vaporeon win!"

The crowd cheered and the press went wild. Misty saw flashes of light coming from all directions. She looked at Gary, who was smirking. But she had learned to look further than that and she knew that he was just as happy with their win as she was. For once, she threw caution to the wind and tackled Gary with a big hug. He went rigid for a second then hugged her in return. He put his arm around her and they posed for a picture, while he secretly spoke in her ear.

"I guess we make quite the pair, Misty."

She couldn't help noticing how his deep 'secret message' voice sent chills all throughout her body. She knew things were changing between them but it was definitely something to think about at a later time. For the minute she wanted to soak up some attention; after all was said and done she was still a Waterflower woman.

Everyone was smiling but Misty had a hunch as to what they were really thinking. At least, if the roles were switched she sure knew what she'd be thinking about all this. Misty Waterflower and Gary Oak had just shown that they were definitely forces to be reckoned with. And to this Misty had only one thing to say:

Damn right!


	5. Chapter 5

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: Ok, things are starting to roll along, yes? Sorry I took a little bit longer than usual with this chapter; I'll aim to get the next one out quickly. Actually I need some advice. If possible I wanted to ask you readers what you thought of the rating. I currently have it sitting at T, but should I up it to M? I do make sexual references and, honestly, it's going to continue that way. I have the characters at age 17 and teenagers are horny, simple fact. If that bugs anyone I can up the age to 18. And my last concern is that I'm playing with the idea of writing in a heavy lime (not quite lemon) scene. If I do I'll TRY to not have it affect the storyline _too_ much. Please give me your thoughts, everyone!

Woot, bumped up to 13 reviews! No real questions really asked so I don't have any answers, hahaha. 'Til next time!

Read and Review Peeps!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 5

All the Small Things

----------

It was weird not to wake up to Gary pounding on her door. It was even odder, she thought, that she missed it. Misty then got out of bed and hopped into the shower, pondering on this fact. Maybe it was something about showering, but it always made her start thinking about things. She sighed and let her mind wander, knowing exactly where it was going to end up. Sometimes she was more like her sisters then she cared to admit.

It was complicated. That was the used bargain brand excuse that she felt she had to keep hiding behind when she thought about Gary Oak. And, in her own defense, it really _was _complicated. She had lived the last few years of her life making predetermined judgments against him. Yes, she had dropped them in the last couple days; but there was more to it. What would Ash say? Bah, who gave two shits what Ash thought? Why was she even bringing him up? Stupid Goober (now when had she adopted Flannery's nickname). Gary was good looking, there she admitted it! But just because the gene pool smiled on him didn't mean he didn't have his shortcomings. That EGO! Sometimes it was just too much. But then again, it could also be very cute; and she knew it was all an act anyway! So where was the real harm...

Hold up!

What the hell was she thinking! Gary was a friend and they flirted. Case closed.

_Knock knock knock._

Misty stuck her head out of the bathroom door, confused. It wasn't an obnoxious rapping, ruling out Gary. So then who would be paying her a visit? Luckily enough, Misty had thought ahead and brought her clothes into the bathroom. During her musing she had gotten dressed and brushed her teeth. All that was left was drying her hair, but if someone actually came to her door then they would have to deal with her wet hair. She looked in the mirror and smiled at her reflection before walking to the door and looking through the peephole. She opened the door and smiled.

"Brawly! What brings you here?"

"Well, Flannery's out with Winona and I was hoping you didn't have plans." He smiled.

Misty smiled back and giggled. The guy seriously had a Big Ben complex about him. She knew that she really needed some fresh air to clear her head and here was Brawly. It was definitely a win-win situation. Besides, she wanted to get to know him a little better anyway. In actuality all she really knew about the guy was that he was ridiculously attractive and that he bought sad girls white roses.

"Nope. I'm all yours."

She did a cheesy, over the top trampy pose in her doorway. It lasted all of two seconds before they both started laughing.

They reached the lobby without mishap. It was just that Misty found her traitorous mind boggled once again. How was it that flirting with Brawly came so easy to her? It was effortless and mindless, like fluff. And that was pretty much how they were, fluffy but they both knew there was no substance to it. What the hell made Gary different? It was the same set up, in actuality, flirty kind of friendship. So why did she find herself more hesitant with Gary? It was a no holds barred things with Brawly, anything went; but when it came to Gary it was more hell in a cell, she wanted to escape but wanted to keep at it at the same time. But what exactly was it she wanted to keep at? And WHY THE FUCK WAS SHE THINKING ABOUT HIM AGAIN!?

She sighed and smacked herself in the head. Brawly's voice suddenly interrupted her grumpy demeanor.

"What's wrong, Cutie?" She wanly smiled.

"Why does your kind have to be so complicated?"

He gave her a sympathetic smile and shrugged. Apparently he had no idea why guys were so damn difficult either. Seeing her downcast face Brawly quickly grabbed her into a bear hug and spun her around a couple of times. Misty couldn't help the smile that broke out onto her face. Instead of putting her back down Brawly shifted her weight, causing her feet to rise. So now she was being carried bridal style by the smiling Brawly. His eyes were sparkling like he had an idea and he quickly took off running with Misty still in his arms. She shook her head and watched as a few people turned their heads. She supposed they made quite the spectacle; heh, oh well.

"I know just the thing to cheer you up!"

"Oh yeah what's that?" She asked.

"You'll just have to wait and see, Misty."

Man, that man knew how to manipulate his voice! He could go from happy to deep, manly sexy the next. And the strange part? It didn't affect her. She was well aware or Brawly's all around sex appeal but it just didn't matter, she didn't turn into blushing goo at the thought of him. She knew she should, but she didn't. Maybe that was why he liked her so much? She stopped her train of thought, curious. Brawly had stopped running and put her down on her feet. She looked at the place that was guaranteed to cheer her up and couldn't help thinking that he actually hit it spot on.

"An ice cream parlor!" She exclaimed.

"Yup! C'mon, let's get a booth."

He grabbed her hand and dragged her inside. They got a booth and quickly ordered.

"So, were you always a gym leader?" Brawly asked.

"No, originally I hated the job. I ran away from home when I was younger and traveled around the world with my friends. You see, my best friend is an aspiring Pokemon Master. I only took over the gym in the last couple of years, and it wasn't exactly by choice."

"Oh yeah, what's your friend's name? Maybe we battled." Brawly looked curious.

"Ash Ketchum." Recognition flashed through his eyes.

"The guy with the super powered Pikachu? He's your best friend?" Brawly looked skeptic.

"Yeah, what of it?" She glared.

"Nothing! He just seemed a little... dingy. It's not really a bad thing, you just seem to be a complex woman whereas he's... just not. That was probably interesting travels, though. You have any good stories?"

"Oh yeah. There was this one time..."

And that was that. The simple pitstop at the ice cream parlor eventually turned into hours of story sharing and laughter. Misty shared tons of stories from her journeys and Brawly, in turn, talked about the many adventures of younger Brawly and Flannery. Two milkshakes and a shared banana split later Misty glanced at her watch and couldn't believe it. It was already late into the afternoon! But she wasn't complaining, she was having a blast! In those hours Brawly had gone from acquaintance to close friend. All full of ice cream, Brawly paid for everything and now they sat in the grass outside the parlor, soaking up some sun.

"Geez Brawly, you sure know how to treat a lady. Now why can't I be losing my head over you? My life would be so much simpler." She sighed.

"Hahaha, it's funny. I was thinking the same thing earlier. I think I just like you too much to seriously be attracted to you; I suppose that makes me an idiot. You're beautiful, really! Don't look at me like that! The other guy gym leaders think so too, you know. I room with a few of them."

"Oh great, I'm the pin up gym leader of the week. But, you know, I think we're just broken 'cuz I'm in the same boat as you. There's no one that could deny your dreaminess, Brawly. You're practically sex on a stick! There, I said it! Hahaha, but it just doesn't quite compute with me. Only Ho-oh knows why not, though."

"So, are you gonna tell me who the lucky guy is?" Misty blushed.

"Don't say it like that! I'm not sure what's up with him, really, it's complicated."

There she goes with that excuse again.

"I don't think so. You're blushing and you've been thinking about him all day. Fess up, who is he?" Misty sighed (again).

"It's really not that simple. I don't know what he thinks of me and naming him under these circumstances would mean that I had a crush on him. I'm over stupid crushes. It's all or nothing with me and I'm still not sure whether I want that with him."

"I see. Well then, can you tell me the name of the guy who has the cutest girl I know in such distress?" She chuckled.

"Alright you win. It's-"

"Am I interrupting something?" A foreign voice asked.

Misty immediately recognized the voice and sent a wink to the offender. Gary Oak, arms crossed across his chest, looked amused by her antics but saying nothing more.

"Hey Misty, I hate to be a flake but I have to go. Chuck told me that he had something for me and now I don't feel bad about leaving!" Brawly said.

"Um ok. I'll see you later then. Give me a hug before you go, Dork."

As she felt Brawly embrace her she noticed his lips were really close to her ear. It seemed she had been busted.

"Just be your sweet sexy self. He'll never know what hit him. Good luck, Cutie." He whispered.

Then just like that he was gone. Misty knew that Brawly knew the truth. All that crap about Chuck was bullshit and she knew that he knew she knew it. Their plan was to spend the entire day together, so why else would he leave so abruptly? She took note of this fact and made a mental note to thank Brawly the next time she saw him. She quickly refocused her attention on Gary and simply smiled. He sent her a suspicious look but sat down in the grass with her anyway.

"So how have you been, Misty?" She blinked.

He was using her name? When had this happened?

"I'm ok. I didn't completely die without you here, hahaha. Where have you been, anyway?"

"Finishing up my research. I know it's kind of crooked, but I'm going to use this tournament as a grand stage to reveal my research. It'll be my big debut as a Pokemon Professor."

"So what is it exactly that you're researching?" She asked curiously.

"I'm not telling, not even you." He said stubbornly.

She wanted to bop him over the head for being so damn stubborn. But quickly told herself that it would be useless to get pissed off. It amazed her how calm she had become over the last few days. Deciding that the change of scenery was the cause she made a mini promise to herself. She would definitely steal Lorelei's spot at the top one day and live here on the Indigo Plateau. Then she could be calm, happy and the best! Damn good goal, she thought.

"Please?" She tried to pout.

"Yeah right, I've seen Magikarp's with sexier pouts than that." He laughed.

"Fine I give up. Sorry for actually being interested." She stared ahead.

It was really amazing how he could make her mind go through such a wide range of emotions within 5 minutes. She knew it was silly to take any of his jokes too seriously, but that Magikarp one sure sucked.

"Hey, I didn't mean to bum you out! Will you cheer up if I apologize?" He looked sincere enough.

"I'd be cheery if you told me about your research." She smiled.

She saw him sigh and shrug his shoulders, admitting defeat.

"Just for you, Beautiful. Let's go then."

They got off the grass and Misty let Gary lead her through the Indigo Plateau. It seemed as if he were wandering aimlessly, but she knew better than that. Gary knew exactly where they were going, and she would just have to wait and keep walking. After they had gone a few blocks they ended up making a rather forced pitstop. The pitstop came in the form of Erika, Whitney and Jasmine. Now Misty had met all of the girls on previous occasions but that really didn't seem to matter to the trio. It was obvious that it wasn't _her_ that they were trying to interact with.

"Hey Gary." They said together.

"Are you busy tonight?" Whitney asked.

"Well, I'm actually in the middle of something-"

"Oh dear, is it really important? I wanted to go over battle strategies with you. You were excellent in your match, Gary." Erika said.

"Yeah? Thanks Erika."

"I think the sun's about to go down." Jasmine said, blushing profusely.

"Jasmine's right. You know, we get a great view from out room, Gary." Whitney added in.

"Oh you absolutely must come Gary! I'll show you all of my new dance moves." Erika said, a little _too_ innocently.

"Really ladies, I appreciate the offer..."

They all smiled hopefully.

"But I'm busy. That simple. So I really have to go now. Later Ladies!"

He gave them his patented grin and all three gym leaders swooned pathetically. Misty rolled her eyes at the spectacle and Gary quickly grabbed her hand and led her into the woods. He looked like he wasn't exactly a happy camper; and, for a second, she worried that he was pissed about revealing his research ahead of schedule. He quickly put those doubts to rest when he opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm really sorry about them." He said to her.

"Eh? Girls are always hitting on you, why should I care?" She asked, genuinely confused.

"Overzealous admirers have a way with screwing up friendships and relationships of any sort. I'm used to it. But they shouldn't have acted like you weren't even there. It's kind of rude if you ask me."

"Aww Gary, that's so sweet!"

She hugged him and was hugged back immediately this time.

"You're an odd one, Red. I really don't get you. But whatever, if you wanna feel me up then help yourself. I've been told I have a great ass." She groaned.

"Forget it. Why are we in the forest Gary?"

"Oh yeah! You wanted to know about my research. Pokeball go!"

Misty held her breath and watched Gary's pokemon emerge. The white light eventually took shape into the form of a white and blue dragon. It stood a good foot and a half over Misty and she could only stare in awe. It was no wonder that Gary brought her out to the woods to let this pokemon out. Just imagine the spectacle when he went public! Gary Oak, leader of Viridian City Gym and trainer of a real Latios!

"Wow." Gary smiled at her reaction.

"I study legendary pokemon. I've literally gone all over the world gathering research, and it's taken me years to come up with what I have. I'll tell you more about it later. Hop onto Latios' neck."

"Are you sure he won't mind?" She blinked, still not believing that a real Latios was right before her eyes.

"You know, you could have just asked him. He understands human speech. You don't mind, right Latios?"

The blue dragon smiled and shook its head then lowered it. Misty was giddy as she climbed on. Excited was just too weak of a word to describe how she was feeling. And just when she thought that it couldn't get any better she felt Gary get on behind her. She felt her whole body tingle and sighed to herself. So maybe everyone had been right, maybe she really did like Gary. Oh well, it wasn't a crime. He reached his arm around her and pointed to the sky, where the sun was currently setting.

"Beautiful isn't it?" She nodded.

"Hold onto Latios tight, Misty. I mean it."

Misty did as she was told and held tightly to Latios' neck. She almost let go and jumped off of Latios when she felt Gary wrap his arms around her torso. She heard him using his low sexy man voice as he asked if she was ok. It was a double whammy! All the poor girl could do was nod her head. But it was all she needed to do. The next thing she knew she was 100 feet off the ground and was rising rather quickly. No wonder he told her to hold on tight.

"You can let go now." He murmured into her ear.

She didn't realize that her eyes were lodged shut until she heard his voice. She released her vice grip from Latios' neck and opened her eyes. Holy shit. It was beautiful. The sky was a mixture of orange, pink and violet; and Latios was drifting high in the sky. Talk about a perfect view. Most guys would just watch a sunset, Gary actually brought the sunset to her. She noticed that his arms were still fastened around her. She smiled and let herself fall back into his chest.

"Thank you Gary. This is amazing."

"It sure is."

She felt him give her a little squeeze and press his face into her hair. She immediately knew that there was a double meaning to his words but he didn't care to elaborate. And that was ok. She was a patient girl and would let time take its own course. She put her hands over his and they happily watched the stars slowly take form in the night sky.


	6. Chapter 6

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: Righteous, we're finally getting somewhere. No, they're not together yet. But I'm working on it! Next chapter is going to be the super citrus teenage hormones in romantic glory chapter. Just giving a warning now. No one's gone over the deep end and threatened to hate me forever if I do it so I'm going to try my luck with citrus. Never wrote anything like it before and I'm hoping that it all goes well! So... yeah. Consider yourself warned.

And hey go me! As of last chapter I have mentioned each gym leader (Kanto, Johto and Hoenn) at least once, YAY!

By the way, **Beware of Dark Lugia** and **Tomoyo Kinomoto** (cute name!) thanks thanks thanks!

Love the Reviews, keep them coming!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 6

Dive Into Blue

----------

For the first time since coming to the Indigo Plateau 4 days ago Misty was able to wake up and get ready in peace. No one came knocking on her door and it was kind of nice. Misty took a deep breath and thought to herself: today would be an amazing day. Renewed with this empowered feeling Misty finished getting ready with a smile on her face. Oddly enough, getting ready was a simple process when good looking guy gym leaders weren't knocking on her door. Right when she thought she was in the clear the impossible happened- the door opened.

"Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisty! Like, are you here?"

Oh no. Please no. Misty closed her eyes, hoping this was all a bad dream, then reopened them. No such luck. She had thought it was funny how she had her own suite where everyone else was rooming with other gym leaders. Now she knew why. She did have roomies, they had just taken their sweet time in arriving. She supposed it could be worse; she hadn't seen them since they left for their world tour.

"Hey you guys, I wasn't expecting you to show up here." She smiled.

"As if we'd miss, like, the biggest superparty EVER!" Lily squealed.

It was an interesting thing to see her sisters again. It had been a few years since last seeing them and, of course, they hadn't aged a single day. The same couldn't be said for her. She had to have been about 15 or 16 then, and had matured a good deal since then. The usual feeling of insignificance and jealousy that she usually felt when her sisters were near just didn't rear its ugly head. She still thought they were airheads; but they were _her_ airhead sisters and she was genuinely glad to see them.

"Well are you going to show us around or not?" Violet looked impatient.

"Sure just leave your bags in here and I'll take you around." Misty shrugged.

"Bellboy! In here, Darling! Chop chop!" Daisy clapped her hands.

Misty sweatdopped as the poor bellboy stumbled into their room with mountains of luggage. Misty laughed at the hilarity (is that even a word?) of it. Some things would probably never change.

It seemed as if the press had heard about the late arrival of the Sensational Sisters and were ready the second they exited the hotel. Lights were flashing and Misty quickly ran to the side. She shook her head and watched her sisters in their element. They reminded her of Charlie's Angels, they were master posers. She just let them do what they did and found a bench to sit on not too far away. She started spacing out and didn't even notice someone sliding onto the bench next to her. It wasn't until they threw their arm around her shoulders did she snap back to reality.

"Wow I didn't know I affected you that much; you must really be nuts about me, Red." She smiled.

"Hey yourself Gary."

Then she noticed his outfit.

"Um, what's with the getup?" He laughed.

"What, you don't like my boyband suit?"

She snorted, boyband suit was right. Now Gary always looked good, he had the money to buy the most expensive clothes. Usually he was seen wearing cargo jeans and a simple black shirt but not today! His cargos had been switched in for jeans that were a little tighter with no pockets and his black shirt had morphed into a white dress shirt that he had unbuttoned, showing his white undershirt. It definitely brought back memories of the boybands she had idolized when she was younger.

"I had a group interview with Gramps earlier. This is my lab coat. I refuse to wear one of those frocks Gramps wears and he refuses to let me go looking like I do. This is the compromise."

"I see."

"Oh yeah, I really don't have much time. There's some kind of researcher/professor catch up convention today and Gramps is making me go. I was hoping you'd come with us."

She saw Professor Oak's jeep, Tracy and Professor Oak waving at her. She also saw Roxanne in the back, arms crossed and quite the sour look on her face. It seemed that _something_ had ticked her off. Now whatever could that be?

"I would, but my sisters just showed up today."

She pointed to the papparazos, who were still taking pictures. Gary nodded and gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Good luck with that."

"Thanks. You too."

Professor Oak honked the horn impatiently. Gary glared and gave Misty an apologetic smile. He stood up and stretched. After standing there for a minute he raised an eyebrow at her. She gave him a look that said 'what?' and he flicked her in the head. She jumped up angrily, ready to beat some sense into him but was caught off guard when he hugged her abruptly. Before she could comprehend the situation he was halfway to the jeep yelling that he'd see her later. Ugh, stupid guys.

"Misty! Come over here right now!" She heard Lily's voice.

"Yeah, you should, like, totally be here with us!" Violet was next.

"After all, there's really, like, 4 Waterflower sisters. C'mon Misty." That was Daisy.

Misty was floored. She made her way through the photographers and to her sisters' side. They had never tried to include her. In fact, they often denied that she was even related. She posed and saw the flashes. So why now? More flashes. Maybe, just maybe, they had matured a little as well.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Who the hell was she trying to to kid? They would be mall obsessed dingbats forever. Not too long after escaping the press the Waterflower sisters had passed a mini-mall. Everything in it was really expensive (it was the Indigo Plateau, after all) and a total waste of time. She had pointed that out immediately after Lily had noticed the place. But as she started walking away she heard the distinct sounds of heels making a break for it. She sighed and shook her head, fuck 'em. She had better things to do then gaze longingly at things she'd never have. She was really starting to wish that she'd just gone with Gary.

"I'm still here, Misty."

Misty whirled around, shock obviously showing on her face. In front of her Daisy still stood, smiling awkwardly. Misty smiled, and immediately Daisy looked a lot more relieved.

"You can go shop if you want, Daisy." The blonde shook her head.

"I can shop anytime, I'd rather spend some time with my little sister."

The pair walked, Misty in the lead. Misty thought a second about her family dynamic and found that she actually held a great deal of respect for Daisy. Their parents hadn't really been in the picture, that left Daisy to single handedly raise her 3 younger sisters. And although her sisters were mighty vain she could honestly say that they were happy. And although they sometimes denied her Misty knew that her sisters loved her when it came right down to it.

As Misty kept thinking she couldn't really remember a time when Daisy had her own life. All of her belongings were shared and she was so busy raising them she never really had time for a boyfriend. Violet and Lily had always had boys over, Misty recalled, but Daisy just didn't. It made her wonder if Daisy ever wished things were different. She suddenly had the urge to do something cool for Daisy. And while she couldn't bring her Romeo she could do the next best thing.

"Um, Misty, where are we?" Daisy looked around, confused.

"It's a bazaar, Daisy. Just give it a chance."

Misty had stumbled upon this place a couple of days ago with Flannery. It was a black market or sorts, a whole block of independent booths. There were tons of awesome things and, before she knew it, Daisy had accumulated a whole collection of bags.

"Man Misty, I've been trying to track you down for days!"

Flannery appeared out of nowhere, holding a few bags of her own. Misty provided the proper introductions and their shopping party was increased to 3. The three ladies shopped until their hearts content, one would assume they had been the best of friends. It was only a couple of hours later when Daisy brought up Ash did Misty really realize how long it had been since she had last seen her sister.

"So, are you still totally dating that Ash guy?"

Silence.

"You know, you could do soo much better." She added as an afterthought.

"Actually Daisy-" Misty started.

"HA! I told you you were too good for him, Misty! Even your sister agrees. He's a goober, isn't he Daisy?" Flannery and Daisy nodded in synchronization.

"Oh be nice, he's a good guy; and we never _dated_ Daisy. I tried..."

Daisy and Flannery looked at her expectantly.

"He just didn't receive the signals or something..."

"Because?" Daisy and Flannery asked together.

"Ok! So maybe there's some goober to him, but it's not funny!"

Misty didn't intend to laugh. In fact, as she watched the other two break out into laughter she tried to stop her mouth starting to twitch. But when Daisy made her face look blank in an Ash imitation and Flannery started singing Ash's supposed 'Ode to Pikachu' she just couldn't help it. Out it came in rounds of laughter, but it was just so funny! Ash Ketchum, the Goober. It would be the name of his autobiography once he became Pokemon Master.

"Ok ok, we'll forget about the Goober for a sec. But you gotta spill about you and Gary. You can't honestly say you don't like him- he's a mangod with an overdose of cocky. Just stick a muzzle on him and that'll solve that problem." Flannery grinned.

"Hang on! You mean, like, Gary Oak? The hottest, richest, most eligible-est bachelor under 21? Misty, you're with HIM?" Daisy's eyes were wide.

"She didn't tell you! Oh man, it's such a great story too..." Flannery started.

Misty sighed and listened to Flannery recap the 'Gary and Misty Saga.' She started with them being on a 'date' at the coffee shop and how Roxanne tried to make like a homewrecker. Followed up by a blurb about how Misty was hella greater than Roxanne. Then she moved on to the battle and how they were so in sync with each other and how she had given him a congratulatory tackle when they won. More insults to 'homewrecker girls.' She finished by talking about how Erika, Jasmine and Whitney were completely snubbed by Gary so he could take off into the woods with Misty.

"Hey! I didn't tell you about that part!" Misty exclaimed.

"Of course you didn't. I'm stuck rooming with those dingleberries! They wouldn't shut up over it." Misty nodded.

"Oh. Why aren't you in a room with Winona?" She knew that the two girls were friends.

"Oh, she has a special deal. She's in a super suite with Juan and Steven at Lance's own estate! Man, the perks of dating a Pokemon Master. I'm sure happy we don't have to battle him, though."

"You said it."

During their momentary conversation about Winona the two girls had forgotten about Daisy. They looked over at her and she looked ready to burst. Flannery looked confused while Misty just held her head down, having an idea about what was to come next. Daisy loved gossip. She literally has subscriptions to 5 different magazines, which is kind of a pain since they keep coming to the gym every month... but that's besides the point! This was sexy man gossip involving her little sister; and the public didn't even know yet!

"Misty I want, like, all the details! Is he sweet? Does he treat you good? Is he a good kisser, uh you have kissed him right? Is he-"

"Daisy hush!"

Daisy cut herself off abruptly and turned to look at Misty, blinking innocently in the process.

"Please. I'm not dating him, I just realized I like him. Just PLEASE let me sort this thing through first. I'll tell you what: if it all works out, you can hound him until your heart's content."

Daisy grinned maniacally.

"You got yourself a deal, Misty."

The sisters shook on it. Then the three headed back to the hotel to dump their days worth of shopping; meeting back in the lobby 10 minutes later to hit the complimentary buffet. Nothing makes shopping more satisfying then a huge meal right at the end.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the time the sisters had returned to the room it was well into nighttime. Lily and Violet were already there, arguing over who got which bed. Misty just blocked it out and retreated to her own bed. She was feeling lazy, and really tired, and somehow managed to switch into her short little blue shorts from her original adventure with Ash. She just left her bra and tiny black shirt on, it wasn't _too_ bad if you wore your bra to bed once or twice.

Two sleepless hours later Misty was a grouchy, tired mess. Beds had eventually been assigned, but now the girls just would not shut up. Now Misty loves her sisters until the end, this fact would never change, but there was a reason that she always had a seperate room from the rest of them. She knew that she would just get pissed off and start screaming pretty soon and, honestly, she didn't want that to happen. So she took measures into her own hands. They probably didn't even notice her leave.

She wandered around the halls of the hotel for a few minutes before deciding on a destination. Still in her zombie state she somehow found herself in front of a door and raised her arm to knock.

_Knock... knock knock..._

Feh, it was good enough. The door opened and all thoughts of sleep were instantly banished from her head. Before her stood a topless Gary in all his glory. Who would've thought that there was a nice body under the professor guise? He had muscle, but wasn't a bulky bodybuilder. Man, he was trying to torture her! She thought about asking him, but then remembered that she had a reason to be knocking on his door pretty late at night.

"Misty? Is anything wrong?" He looked concerned.

"Couldn't... sleep... stupid sisters."

Well now that was interesting. Her mind was wide awake and thinking thoughts that would make Brock blush; but her body... well it was still tired, causing slurry speech. Gary looked confused for a second then quickly stuck his head out of the door, looking both ways, then yanked Misty inside and slammed the door.

"Ok Red, do you have a real reason to be here or did you just want to sneak a peak?"

She rolled her eyes and bit her tongue, she really needed his cooperation.

"Can I stay here tonight? My sisters are too loud, I can't get any sleep. I won't be a bother, promise!"

"No way!" Misty blinked, shocked at his speedy denial.

"But Gary-" He shook his head.

"No way. As much as I'd love to, you forget that I'm sharing this suite with Gramps and Tracy. Tracy wouldn't mind but my Grandpa would flip his lid. I'm really sorry, Misty but no. You're lucky that they went on an ice run when they did. You have to leave now before they-"

Then they heard it. It was the distinct sound of turning doorknob. Like deer caught in headlights the two gym leaders looked at each other, eyes wide. Then, with reflexes neither of them knew he possessed, Gary (gently) shoved Misty into what she could only assume was his room. She heard the door slam and quickly ran to it, listening in on the other side. She heard Oak and Tracy arrive and couldn't help but admire Gary's ability to keep cool under pressure.

"Gary, what's wrong? I heard a door slam." That was Prof. Oak.

"Gramps I think you might be going senile." Gary said very seriously.

"No, I heard it too Gary." Tracy cut in.

"Maybe you should lay off the Oddish fumes then. You're both nuts, there was no crash or whatever you heard. Now, I waited for you to get your ice and now you're back. Can I go to sleep now?"

"Right right, goodnight Gary."

"Night you guys. See you in the morning."

Misty jumped back abruptly, landing on her ass. The door opened and she was met with the amused face of Gary Oak. That was one good thing about him, he always rose to the occasion. She gave him a cute smile from her spot on the ground and he just raised an eyebrow in response.

"Well I guess you win. I can't risk sneaking you out now." She smiled triumphantly.

"But you're not wearing that to bed."

She looked down at her outfit of tiny shorts and tiny shirt. It was comfy, where was the problem?

"Why not?" He looked at her, disbelieving.

"Are you serious? Do you have any idea what you sleeping next to me in _that_ will do to me?"

Oooooooooooh. She hadn't thought of that.

"Well can't you just stay away?" He smirked.

"Please. You couldn't stay away from me if I beat you with a stick, it's not exactly _me_ I'm worried about."

"Whatever Mr. Wonderful. What am I supposed to wear then?" He chuckled.

She watched him dig through his bag for a second before he threw some clothes at her face. When she removed the clothes from her face she saw that he had his back turned. She quickly took off her clothes, bra included this time, and threw on the long-sleeved shirt. It was too big and really comfy, like it had been worn its fair share of times. It was only when she saw its purple color did she realize how much Gary had used this particular shirt.

"I would've thought that you had grown out of this shirt." He turned.

"I did. I just bring it around with me, like a good luck charm. It hasn't let me down yet. HEY! Why aren't you wearing the pants?" She rolled her eyes.

"It's too hot. Besides, you're not wearing a shirt so it's only fair. Just calm down and get some sleep."

She gave him a look that dared him to challenge her before jumping onto his king sized bed. Oh man! The penthouse suite was amazing! King sized beds and feather down comforters, this would be an awesome night's sleep. She quickly climbed under the covers and rolled onto her side. She felt the bed shift and knew that Gary had climbed in next to her. Under normal circumstances she knew that she'd be blushing like a mad woman and trying to scoot as far away from him as possible, but she was just too damn tired to care. She rolled, her hand barely grazing cloth along the way. Now when had he stripped down to his boxers?

"Goodnight Gary."

"Goodnight Misty."

And that was all she wrote.


	7. Chapter 7

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

**I UPLOADED TWO CHAPTERS IN THIS UPDATE (WOOT, TWO FOR ONE!). SKIP TO CHAPTER 8 IF YOU ARE UNDER 18!**

Author's Note: You know, I really don't know how to start this chapter. Hahaha, I'll let it all play out how it will. This will end up being my super lime chapter, and I still defend it. People do what they do, this will NOT be a big sex scene because that's pretty unrealistic, yeah? Oh well, here we go!

Hmm, I just finished writing this chapter and thought I'd add a last minute note. This ended up coming up a lot more dirty then I had originally intended. I still didn't hit lemon status (although I might've come close), at least I don't think I did, but I made sure to keep this chapter shorter for those who can't stand this kind of stuff. I'm hoping you, Reader, are mature enough to read this because I'm really proud of it and would absolutely love critiques and constructive criticism!

To **Beware of Dark Lugia**: I'm sorry! Believe me, torture isn't exactly what I had in mind, hahahaha. Actually the battles will start pretty soon. After this double chapter update I'm guestimating about one more chapter until the tournament kicks off. Yup! Hope that answers it.

Please review! I've never written a lime! Woot excitement!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 7

Devil's Dance

----------

Waking up had never been so awkward. At first Misty was alarmed, immediately knowing she wasn't in her own bed. Had she been drugged? Was this date-rape aftermath? Oh no! Had she done the deed? Nononononono!

Hang on. Her sisters were being royal pains, which wasn't exactly unusual, and she had retreated for much needed sleep. Gary, Professor Oak, Tracy, _Oddish fumes_? Whatever the case, she was awake and in tact. Gary was a few inches away, his back turned to her. So he really was a gentleman after all- what a relief. She briefly thought about escaping which would effectively stop the potential weirdness of having to face mostly naked Gary wide awake this time. Heaven forbid it was hard enough when she was half asleep.

But that idea had a few obvious kinks. For all she knew Tracy or even worse, Prof. Oak could be doing morning exercises outside the door or something like that. Without knowing where they were it kind of ensured that she stay trapped in the room with Gary. Another kink is Gary himself. Who knows how he'd react to being ditched when he risked his neck so that she could have a good night's sleep? She wouldn't expect him to do anything drastic, but the guy _did_ have a big mouth. She sure as hell didn't want word to get out that she had, technically, slept with him. It wasn't as if she were _that_ kind of girl.

"Geez Gary, why are you always such a pain in the ass?"

She didn't seriously expect a response. She knew that Gary was still passed out, like she should be, it was a lot earlier than her usual wake up time. The sun had only been out for three, maybe four, hours. She could tell by the morning breeze that was coming in through Gary's open window. So it was safe to say that she was shocked when he rolled over to face her, still fast asleep.

She watched him continue to sleep, breathing in and out. A soft smile broke out onto her face. Was Daisy right? Was she just over thinking things?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_The two sisters had just finished dinner and had split from Flannery. They were waiting for the elevators to come down. For once, there were no people around. They had probably caught the last elevator. Misty grumbled under her breath about stupid elevators and wait time. She saw her sister giving her a funny look, but brushed it off. After all, getting funny looks from Daisy was something she had just gotten used to as time went by._

_"So Misty, what's like the real deal with Gary Oak?"_

_She smiled, not fooled by Daisy's attempt at nonchalance. It seemed her sister was looking out for her._

_"I really don't know Daisy. He was supposed to be a jerk; I was supposed to hate his guts. But I don't. I actually really like spending time with him and he's really sweet when he wants to be. I can hold a decent conversation with him, too. But at the same time he's Gary Oak! You said it yourself: he's very rich and very single, not to mention Ash's rival..."_

_"Oh Misty you know what your problem is? You think, like, way too much. I'm amazed your forehead isn't totally covered in wrinkles with how much you, like, stress!"_

_Misty opened her mouth to protest, but Daisy beat her._

_"Do you like him?" Misty sighed._

_"Yes."_

_"Does he treat you with respect?" Misty nodded._

_"For the most part."_

_"Now, the most important of all questions to end all questions. Do you want to blow away the mind of that sexy ass piece of beef?!"_

_Misty turned beet red and Daisy just broke into total hysterics. Obviously no answer was needed- Misty's red face said it all._

_"Hahaha, like Misty, I told you about the birds... hahaha and the bees right? Hahaha!"_

_Misty just grumbled incoherently._

_"Oh take a chill pill Girl! I'm just joking with you. Gary's ok, you just need to, like, find your inner zen or whatever."_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

The conversation had ended there because the elevator had finally came back down. But now as she looked at Gary she couldn't help but think of Daisy's unorthodox attempt at psychology. She felt amazingly calm at the moment, and cleared her head. Or maybe she was just falling back asleep? Well, whatever it was, it helped her just look into herself. Fuck everyone else, they were just white noise. And in her inner self it was painfully obvious where Gary stood. Now, if only she could just stay this "zen" all the time.

Her meditative state was broken as Gary's hand somehow found its way to her ass. She swatted it quickly and he immediately opened his sleepy eyes, confused more than anything else. His eyes eventually reached her and he gave her a sleepy smile. She smiled back and decided, for once, to blow caution to the wind and give all the doubting voices the big fuck you. Before Misty's mind had time to catch up she had claimed his lips with her own.

Needless to say, if Gary had any thoughts of going back to sleep they were ancient history by now. Misty felt him stiffen in surprise, but only for half a second. Even when just waking up the boy was damn good at catching himself. She felt him smirk against her lips and pull her closer, deepening their kiss.

"I knew you'd come around." Misty rolled her eyes.

"Shut the hell up."

She pushed him back onto the pillows and kissed him hard. She felt like a different person... and loved it. This Misty didn't give two shits what anyone thought and went for what she wanted full force. She was fierce and knew how to put a man in his place. But she was still a sensual woman, just dancing the dance she had just learned yet known since the day she was born.

_Yeah, I feel you too_

_Feel, those things you do_

_In your eyes I see _

_A fire that burns to free the you_

_That's wanting through_

Gary Oak was not one to be dominated and she felt him kissing her back with just as much passion. She felt his tongue enter her mouth and her mind unconsciously registered that he hadn't asked her permission first. She bit down HARD and giggled, licking up the tiny amount of blood she caused to come up. In that fraction of a second Gary flipped her. She didn't even even realize that the tables had turned until she felt him on her neck.

_Deep in side you know _

_The seeds I plant grow_

Mindblowing. Whatever the hell he was doing, it was amazing. She had been wondering where the hell he had gotten that speed, but the thoughts flew right out of her head and all she could focus on was that spot on her neck. Sucking, licking, biting, wriggling. At least she tried to, the boy had her effectively pinned to his bed; and she loved it.

_One day you will see_

_And dare to come down to me_

_Yes come on, come on now, take that chance_

_That's right, let's dance_

She felt him work his way down her neck towards her collarbone. She struggled hard to move her arms and Gary, feeling her need to not be invalid, let them go free. She immediately brought her arms around him, digging her nails into his back. He responded by biting into her skin. Pain and pleasure melded together and a deep moan made its way to her throat. His hand quickly clamped over her mouth. Oh yeah, they weren't alone. She angrily took a hold of Gary's hair and forced him into another kiss, this time battling it out with his tongue.

"Gary, are you awake in there?"

That was definitely Professor Oak.

Misty was shoved under the covers faster than what should be humanly possible. She heard the door open, but the voices were really muffled due to the thick comforters. She found herself at eye level with Gary's naked torso and couldn't help but admire the view. She had to use all of her willpower to hold in a snort when she let her eyes go lower. Black silky boxers, why was it not a surprise? But, as she stayed down there her mind quickly discarded thoughts of snorting for activities of a different nature.

Misty was a virgin and would stay a virgin. She knew that her hymen wasn't going anywhere today. But she was still only human. Intercourse was only one way to get the job done. While some people clumped everything under the category of "sex" Misty just wasn't one of them. She was a Waterflower, and Waterflower women knew how to please their men. And this particular Waterflower had been repressed for years. She wouldn't have intercourse, but would she remain a virgin? Well, that just depends on who you ask.

_Snake, I am the snake_

_Tempting, that bite you take_

_Let me make your mind_

_Leave yourself behind_

_Be not afraid_

She made sure to keep her body as still as possible as she moved. Chances were really high that Professor Oak was still talking to Gary. She had noticed the bulge in his boxers immediately after going under, but it had shrunk in size significantly over the past minute or so. She wove her body into the perfect position without mishap and carefully bit into his thigh; making sure it wasn't hard enough to cause him to cry out. That would ruin the whole game.

_I've got what you need _

_Hunger I will feed_

She felt his hand tugging on her hair, trying to yank her away without alerting his Grandfather. She let him do it, having completed her mission. His erection was back in full swing and she snaked her arm in through his pant leg, grabbing onto his danglage before he yanked her arm away. She squeezed for good measure, then started moving her hand in the appropriate rhythm, making sure not to go too fast for his sake.

_One day you will see_

_And dare to come down to me_

_Yes come on, come on now, take the chance_

_That's right, come dance_

She heard two doors slam. One was Gary's door and the other could only be the front door. Knowing what this meant, she smiled and gave him a tender kiss on his bellybutton. He opened the covers and she emerged from blanket world, taking a deep breath; it was kind of stuffy down there. No sooner did she catch her breath then she was caught in Gary's kiss. It was a slow, emotion filled kiss; the kind that made your knees buckle. Good thing she was on a bed.

"Damn Red, you are the freak to end all freaks. And to think, you're still a virgin." He laughed.

"It's Misty, Dummy, MIS-TY; and don't you give me that shit. You're just as much a virgin as I am." She smiled back at him.

"Heh, guilty as charged. You're a smart girl, Misty. See, I do know your name."

"Good. Don't you forget it, I want to hear it loud and clear."

He flashed her his famous smirk and sent her a wink; he understood _exactly_ what she meant. She had a job to finish. She winked right back and him and returned to blanket world. Judging by the looks of things her work was almost done.

_One day you will see_

_And dare to come down to me_

_Now come on, come on now, take the chance_

_That's right!_

She pulled those damn silky boxer down and got back to work. Gary's poor penis was rock solid and she contemplated asking him if it hurt, but then remembered that she was supposed to be fixing the problem and not studying it. She brought her head down and took it into her mouth fearlessly. She kept her hands busy with the base and Gary's other jewels. She kept her tongue moving and sped up her pace, just hoping that she was doing it right. She felt him pull her closer and smiled. Soon enough, she was rewarded with his explosion and quickly her mouth filled with pure saltiness. She made a face and swallowed all of it down whole, making sure that not a single drop escaped. She gave his butt a nice pinch before exiting blanket world again.

_Yeah, I feel you too_

_Feel, those things you do_

_In your eyes I see _

_A fire that burns to free to you_

_That's running through_

She emerged with a smug look but it didn't last too long. Gary, using his super speed again, managed to whip his top right off her body; leaving her in nothing but underwear. He gently laid her down on the pillows and kissed her forehead, it was time for her to take it easy. She laid back and he arrived at her earlobe, expertly maneuvering his tongue in all the right ways- her body shivering in anticipation. He took her breast into his hand, massaging and teasing at the same time. He kissed his way down to her other one.

_Deep in side you know _

_Seeds I plant will grow_

She moaned, happy that it wasn't stifled this time around. He had his tongue swirling and his hand pinching. She arched her back, relishing in the feeling of having his chest against her stomach. When she came back down to the bed she noticed that his hand had reached her panties and they were falling down to her knees. She felt his fingers crawling back to her entrance. Simultaneously, his mouth moved back to her neck. She didn't even notice him slide his finger into her already wet entrance.

_One day you will see_

_And dare to come down to me_

_Yeah come on, come on now, take the chance_

_That's right, we'll dance_

She felt him start pumping his finger and, when he deemed fit, stuck in a second finger to join the first. For a second it was kind of unpleasant, but once that second passed she wanted to scream Gary's name to the skies. She settled for a moan and the chance to rake her nails down his back. He kept going: faster, harder, twisting, turning. Not long after she felt a burning sensation in her stomach, needing to let it out she wouldn't be satisfied with just a moan.

"Oh shit Gary! Don't stop!" He chuckled and brought his lips to her ear.

"You're so lucky I don't have any neighbors. You're loud, Darlin'."

She attempted, and failed, to look bashful.

"Oops."

With a final summon from Gary's fingers she experienced her first orgasm. She sighed and squeezed him tight, briefly wondering if he had moaned out her name like she had his. Damn soundproof blanket world. She sighed, you win some you lose some. She grabbed Gary's discarded purple shirt, pulled it back over her head and laid back down. It seemed Gary had the same idea she did. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and pulled her close like a teddybear. She smiled and closed her eyes. After all, it was way too early to face the world.

_It's nice to see you here_

_Ha ha!_


	8. Chapter 8

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: It's sure an odd thing to be planning one thing and totally going another way. I had originally intended this to be a shorter story, with NO citrus undertones; but whatever!

I'm pretty happy with myself for getting out a double update (triple if you actually read one shot Ranma fic I just loaded). According to my doctor I'm supposed to be massively depressed right now. I'm leaving home and moving to a completely new city and starting college this week- the Doc says that those are two super depression triggers. Feh. I suppose I'm nervous, but I don't think it's the end of the world. Maybe I'm just strange? Hahaha, whatever. Way I figure, I'm not going to be alone. I happen to be the proud mother of a fat, lazy cat with a major attitude problem. She and me? Oh yeah, we'll conquer the world.

Thank you Reviewers! Even if this is a double update I just want to continue to be thankful... yup!

P.S. If I get lots of reviews for this chapter I'll try to make the next one extra long as a gift to you guys!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 8

Evolution

----------

By the time Misty had reawakened her newfound "zen" had jumped ship and left her to die at sea. Did she regret any of it? No fucking way. But it still didn't account for the fact that she had let herself go in ways she never had before. She was a far cry from a modest prude, but there was a big difference in hearing about things and actually doing them. She felt her cheeks turning red in a mixture of embarrassment and disbelief that she had even done some of the things she did.

"Is it time to wake up?" Gary asked, eyes still closed.

"Something like that. It's already past one."

She saw him open his eyes and give her a funny look, quickly followed up by laughter.

"Hahaha! You look like attack of the killer tomatoes!"

She gasped and retreated into the bed, pulling a pillow over her head. She heard Gary continue to laugh as he tried getting her to come out of hiding.

"What are you doing in there? Is this how you treat all of your suitors? No wonder Ashy-boy never jumped on ship."

A well aimed kick to his shins made his yap shut. She smiled as he gave her a sloppy hug and got out of bed. Once she was sure her face was normal again she emerged from the pillow. She silently watched him get ready. It was then that the gravity of what had transpired finally hit her. Was it a mistake? They had never actually talked about what they were exactly; and furthermore, did he even want to be with her? She didn't think he was the kind of guy who would eat and run but there was always that the "what if."

"Gary, what's going on? What are we?" She asked in a small voice. He gave her an annoyed look in response.

"Don't ask stupid questions. We're us; I hate the term boyfriend and won't respond to it. So when Flannery asks you, and I know she will, just tell her that we're floating." He winked at her.

Floating. What the hell was that supposed to mean!? The guy was seriously insufferable. It made her wonder why the hell she liked him so much. He probably noticed her angry/distressed look. The next thing she knew he had jumped onto the bed and landed on top of her. She gave him a quizzical look. He just grinned his little grin and kissed her. She felt herself smile into his lips and brought her arms around him, bringing him closer. When they separated he gave her a pointed look.

"I'm not going anywhere and I sure hope you aren't either. I think I'd lose my mind if I had to watch you kiss another guy." He said seriously.

"You like me." Misty said with a smile.

"No shit. Took you long enough to figure that one out." She ignored him and continued on.

"Say it."

"Wha?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Say I, Gary Oak, am totally gaga over Misty." She smirked as he rolled his eyes.

"I, Gary Oak, am totally... loving the way Misty looks like she wants to jump my bones!"

He laughed and avoided the pillow flying at his head. She watched him get off the bed and sighed. Well, it was a start. He may reject girlfriend and boyfriend but he said he was going to stick it out; and, in its own way, that was enough. She got out of the bed and got dressed. She hadn't thought much on it the night before, but her outfit wasn't exactly conventional. It was no mystery that Misty didn't fear showing some skin, but at the minute she was showing way too much. Maybe a pitstop at her room? But then she'd have to deal with her sisters' questions... scratch that idea. There had to be some way around it.

She went into the bathroom and "borrowed" one of those toothbrush+toothpaste combos the hotel gave away for free. She may be a guest in this room but there was no way she was going to ignore gross morning mouth. As she brushed she pondered her damned outfit situation and smacked herself in the head. She could just borrow something of Gary's! Hahaha, pure genius. She looked in the mirror and smiled, satisfied with her brushing; but then a thoughtful look crossed her features. She had kept her hair down all week and kind of missed her ponytail. After putting it up she looked into the mirror one last time and... WHAT THE FUCK WAS ON HER NECK?!?!

"GAAAAAAAAAAAARY!"

She stormed into his room, eyes on fire. She saw him look at her, confused as hell, before she punched him square in the arm HARD.

"Dammit Red! What the hell was that for?"

"Don't give me that shit! Look at my neck!"

She pointed to the offending bruise and Gary choked to hold in his laughter.

"So it's a hickey! You didn't have to punch me for it!" She glared.

"Well maybe I just wanted us to be a matching pair."

Although she was the one who did the punching she still felt less than satisfied. Gary was smirking to himself and she could just tell that he was admiring his handiwork. Just a hickey, yeah right. She was pretty sure that hickeys were supposed to come in shades of red; her injury was a purplish blue. Fucking vampire, that's what he was. A proud, smirking vampire. Oh well, there was nothing she could really do about it now. The hairs on her neck stood up and she turned, abruptly catching the overcoat that was thrown at her head.

"The collar should help cover it up. I really didn't mean to leave such a dark mark, hehe." He smiled sheepishly.

"Thanks."

She looked at the overcoat and giggled to herself. It was Gary's labcoat/boyband shirt. She hadn't noticed yesterday, but the name OAK was silkscreened onto the back. Right, that wouldn't be conspicuous. Oh well. She tried it on and did a victory pose. It was a little big and it covered her little shorts and little black shirt number. In all honesty, she thought she looked cute in the baggy white dress shirt. She heard a cell phone go off and saw Gary pick it up, an unpleasant look on his face.

"Hi Roxanne."

She giggled for a multitude of reasons. First off, he looked irked about Roxanne's call. Second, he also looked like he was afraid that she would cut him in two. Well, if he thought she was that kind of girl then he was really mistaken. He could have all the girl friends he wanted. She knew he wasn't going anywhere.

"WHAT! You're kidding! Shit, I'll be down there in 2 minutes. Thanks, bye."

"Gary what's up?" Misty asked.

"They've started to draw up the tournament board but we're missing. Thankfully they've just heard Lance give a speech, but we have to go NOW!"

Misty didn't need to be told twice. She didn't want to think about the wrath that would be incurred if she were called to pick a number and not show up. Yeah that would be bad. The pair literally sprinted down the hallway. The elevator, if course, was busy on other floors and they really didn't have the time to wait. Quickly making a detour to the stairs the pair flew down to the lobby and resumed their sprint. All was good until the front door, but then Misty came to a realization.

"Gary, where exactly are we going?"

"Pokecenter." They took off running again.

"What?!? That's a few blocks away!" He grinned.

"Well then this is the perfect chance to work those thighs!"

She smacked him in the arm and groaned. Insufferable, there was no other word for it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They reached the Pokemon Center easily enough and were able to slink in without mishap. Nurse Joy probably paid a fortune to have the board drafting done at the center, it was pretty cramped. But, on the plus side, they probably weren't even missed except for by their friends. Misty looked around and spotted Flannery and Brawly standing against a wall looking bored out of their mind.

"Hey, I'm gonna go figure out what's going on." Gary said.

"Ok, I think I'll join Flannery and Brawly, they look kind of bored."

Gary nodded and the pair split up. She saw him disappear into the crowd; well, sort of. If she looked hard enough she could follow his spiky hair. She laughed and then ran over to her friends. They both looked off guard and didn't notice her initial approach. She grinned to herself and leaped into the air, intent on tackling Brawly. But of course his years of training kicked in and he turned during the last minute and caught her in a bear hug.

"Hey Cutie, we were looking for you earlier!"

"I actually just got here. What have I missed?" Flannery smirked.

"I'll bet you just got here. You want some concealer, Misty?" Misty blushed, busted.

"Ehehehehehe." She scratched her head.

"So you guys FINALLY got together! I want details!" Brawly clamped a hand over Flannery's mouth, trying to muffle her screams.

"Well, short version: I kissed and he kissed back."

"That's so awesome, Misty. I guess I can't call you Cutie anymore, huh? Well, at least not with your loverboy around. But, whatever the case, I knew you'd wrangle his ass in." Brawly winked and gave her the thumbs up.

"No doubt. You look adorable in his shirt, too." Flannery smiled.

Misty couldn't be happier. What did she do to deserve such awesome friends? Although she had traveled with Ash for years and would swear that he knew her inside out, she couldn't help but feel that in these past couple days she had genuinely found two people who not only understood her, but also loved her the way she was. All that and a great boyfriend-who-won't-be-called-boyfriend? Man, she was a lucky ducky. She was brought out of her reverie by Nurse Joy holding out an oversized hat.

"You three, please draw a number."

The three gym leaders drew numbers and held them out to be recorded. Number 13, that put her smack dab in the middle; or at least really close to it. That was a good thing, if she was completely demolished at least she wouldn't be the first or the last. But she couldn't think like that! She would win, and in the process show the world exactly what Misty Waterflower was made of!

"What did you draw, Misty?" Brawly asked.

"Lucky 13." Flannery sweatdropped.

"Um, I think 13 is actually UNlucky."

"Feh, eye of the beholder" Misty brushed it off.

As it turned out, she wouldn't really have to worry too hard over battling her friends. Flannery ended up with 17, which was still far enough from 13 to ensure that they wouldn't battle unless they both miraculously made it to the finals. And Brawly? He was miles away with number 25. It was highly unlikely that they would be reaching the finals, though, as Misty would soon learn.

"Wouldn't it be awesome if we snagged gold, silver and bronze?" Misty grinned.

"It sure would. I doubt it, though." Brawly sighed.

"No kidding. I forgot that you missed the speech. There's only 24 gym leaders. But, we need either 16 or 32 competitors to make it an even tournament. And, no one wants to drop out now, so we had to add 8 people. So now we're also taking on the Elite Four times two!"

"What! We can't beat them! We don't really need 32 people, do we?" Misty asked, wide eyed.

"Well, it's the only way to crown one champion without giving anyone an unfair bye. If you think about it mathematically it makes sense- 1 x 22, 2 x 24, 4 x 28, 8 x 216 and 16 x 232. This way it's fair; and, we actually have it easy. Since Bruno does double duty there's technically 11 elite four members. The three leaders- Karen, Lance and Drake- aren't competing, so imagine how much worse it could be." A mysterious voice spoke up.

Misty scrunched her forehead. She knew that voice; in fact, she knew it quite well! But there was no way. It couldn't be him, could it? She turned and immediately her eyes lit up.

"BROCK!" Misty jumped into his arms for a hug.

"Hey Misty, I was wondering when I'd run into you!"

Misty smiled and brought him into her circle. All was good until Brock saw Flannery and turned into a mushy pile of goop. Misty bopped him over the head and glared. She had missed her girl crazy friend way too much to let him loose it over a girl. She watched him sigh dejectedly and she bopped him again, not buying his game at all. Flannery and Brawly blinked in confusion, not quite understanding what was going on at all. Something caught Flannery's eye across the room, though, and she cleared her throat to get Misty's attention.

"Looks like they didn't get the memo." Flannery pointed.

Misty and the two boys followed her finger and saw none other than a surrounded Gary. Erika, Whitney and Jasmine were flanking him like a pack of hungry wolves. Roxanne wasn't helping matters any: she was attached to Gary's arm, keeping him anchored to the spot. Gary himself didn't look like he minded too much, he just looked more bored than anything else. He looked up and caught her eye, giving her a knowing wink. As if he thought she would crumble into a pile of jealous, yeah right! She just rolled her eyes at him and turned around.

"Ooh! He just hung his head, that was mean Misty." Brawly laughed.

"Please, he got himself into that mess. If that's the type he prefers then, by all means, who am I to stand in the way?"

Brock looked back and forth between Gary and Misty. Misty carefully watched him put two and two together in his head. The comments, his shirt, and even that damned hickey on her neck. She heard him gasp as it all fell into place. It was the craziest thing, she swore she saw his eyeballs! Now that was one shocked Brock. But, how would he take it she wondered? Honestly, she wasn't too worried. She knew that Brock loved her to death and trusted her to make the right choices. But, there was always that what if.

"Gary Oak? Honestly Misty?" Brock asked seriously.

"Yeah. He's a good guy, Brock." Brock nodded.

"I don't doubt it. But, what about Ash?"

Misty noticed Flannery's eyes slightly widen at the mention of Ash. She saw her grab Brawly by the collar and mumbled something about the bathroom before hightailing it out of the general area. Smart thing, too. Flannery probably understood how close Misty was to taking violent choking action against Brock at the minute. Friendship was everlasting, but sometimes you just had to know when to stay out of it. Misty stayed silent and let Brock continue.

"He's here, you know. There's no way he'd miss this, it's like a dream to be here for him. He was throwing a fit the whole way here about how he should be participating instead of just watching."

Misty gave a half smile, thinking to herself.

"When I got the forwarded invite from my dad I couldn't believe that he'd pass up the opportunity. It was his dream to battle here. There was no way I'd turn it down. May and Max also were inclined to come and watch their dad, Norman, battle live. We just arrived this morning, but Ash was looking for you since the moment we checked into the hotel."

Misty continued to listen.

"Misty, you know we'll always have each others back. Shit, I don't know what I would have done without you those first 3 years. All Ash would EVER talk about was badges badges badges, you remember right? But yeah, all we had was each other and I still trust you wholeheartedly. So, if you tell me that you're happy with Gary then I'll back you 100, just keep in mind that Ash probably won't be so open."

"Brock, you're the best."

She smiled and hugged him real hard and good. She knew she had been a fool to even doubt Brock in the slightest. It was true, they had relied on each other and she should have known better than to think he would discard that. It was a weight off her shoulders, though. Brock was one of her rocks, cliche as that may sound, and it was really good to know that they were still looking out for each other.

"I'm really crazy about him, Brock. I'm happy with him and if Ash can't respect that then he can go to hell."

Brock gave her an amused smile, probably never expecting to hear those words from her mouth. She shrugged and smiled, filling Brock in on everything that had happened since she left Cerulean City a few days ago. She didn't bother censoring herself, Brock would know immediately if she twisted the truth even in the slightest. When she finished she figured that they made quite the pair: her face being red as a stop sign and Brock's jaw dropped all the way down to his shoulders.

"Holy shit Misty. If I had only known I would have dropped Officer Jenny for you years ago." He grinned.

"Shut up. I'm already blushing bad enough." He laughed.

"I'm just kidding. Besides, it seems that you're taken anyways. I'm really happy for you, Mist. You sure as hell deserve it."

"Thanks Brock." She smiled.

"No prob. But, uh, shouldn't you save him? I swear, some guys have all the luck."

She watched Brock send Gary a look of pure envy. Misty giggled to herself, if only he knew how obnoxious the fawning was. He sure as hell wouldn't envy Gary then. But, she had to admit, Brock had a point. She wasn't being a very good lovergirl by just leaving him to the sharks. She confidently strode over to where they were, Brock in tow. It was obvious that they had some kind of relationship- hell, she was wearing his name across her back- but if there were any doubts they were about to be put to rest. Ready or not, world, she had hooked up with Gary Oak.

"Could you females back the fuck up please."

Misty kept a straight face, trying her hardest not to break into laughter at the looks on the girls' faces. She put her face into an annoyed look, drawing inspiration from her sister Violet; and she just knew that if her blue haired sister were here she'd be damn proud. She watched the 4 girls' eyes widen and jaws drop. She raised an eyebrow, daring any of them to challenge her, as she walked up to Gary and kissed him right there in the middle of the Pokemon Center.

She felt him wriggle his arm free of Roxanne and wrap it around her waist, effectively bring her closer. She snuck her tongue into his mouth and she felt him smiling as they played tonsil hockey. What could she do? She only meant to free Gary from the sharks, as she affectionately dubbed them, but somehow ended up jamming at first base. It sure as hell wasn't a bad thing, though. She just hadn't thought ahead to suck in some extra air. He didn't seem to know this and didn't feel like letting her go anytime soon; so she flicked him in the head.

"Air Gary. I need to breathe."

"Oh. Sorry about that, heh." He smirked.

"Yeah whatever." She rolled her eyes at him.

The Sharks and Roxanne had long since left, leaving Brock. Misty immediately felt bad about making him watch her mini make out but ended up eating her words. Brock was too busy staring at Nurse Joy, Misty doubted he even acknowledged her kiss. She felt Gary slightly tense and she looked at him, wondering what was up, and found him looking at Brock. She figured it was some sort of manpride thing.

"Ash sent him to kill me, I just know it." Gary whispered.

"Shut up. He actually is willing to give you a fair chance." She whispered back.

"The last time I spoke to him was when I won my boulderbadge, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't telling him job well done."

"Um, am I missing something?" Brock asked in a normal voice.

Misty and Gary jumped, not expecting the voice. Misty smiled and Gary just shrugged, waving hello to Brock. The other man nodded and smiled, extending his hand. Gary mirrored his actions and the two shook hands. Misty just cocked her head, not getting it. For all she knew there had been a whole conversation that she had just missed. Oh well, handshakes were usually a good thing. She figured she was in the clear... until Brock opened his mouth.

"If you hurt her I'll hunt you down, Oak. Count on it."

Gary sent her a look that just screamed 'I told you he wants to kill me!' Misty just laughed and pretended she didn't notice. This tournament was turning out to be quite the spectacle. Who knew what would happen next?


	9. Chapter 9

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: I'm really sorry that I took sooooo long to get this chapter up. I just moved to a new town and started college so (please) cut me a break. I'll have the next one up sooner, promise. 

Whoo! I brought back Brock and Ash is well on his way! Actually, I had planned on bringing him in last chapter but it ended up longer than I expected. I'll probably add that part in as a flashback or something. And guess what? BATTLES START NEXT CHAPTER, YAAAAY!

I know I say it every chapter, but it's true: Reviewers make the world go round!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 9

Nothing Else Matters

----------

Misty awoke to the sound of desperate knocking on her door. Not obnoxious, like Gary, or unsure, like Brawly. For a second she wondered who it could be; but then it all came back full force. She had gone out with Gary and Brock last night. As it turned out, the two guys actually hit it off really good. Apparently breeding is an important factor in researching pokemon, as she learned last night, and the guys were trading tips for hours. It had been a good night until they arrived back at the hotel.

_Misty was smiling as she walked back to the hotel with Brock and Gary. They had just walked around the Indigo Plateau until the wee hours. It was plenty safe, so there was no need to worry. But, by this time, Misty felt like she was ready to climb into her bed. And if her sisters chose to give her shit and keep her up again then there would be hell to pay. She just didn't know how to exact it yet._

_"So, we still have a free day tomorrow before the tournament starts right?" Brock asked. _

_"Well, today's Wednesday and the opening ceremony start Friday morning. I guess we really do have only one day left. This week went by so fast, huh Red?" Misty nodded._

_"It sure did."_

_"Speak for yourself." Brock added._

_They reached the entrance of the hotel and split. Brock went off to the room he shared with Ash, May and Max. She expected Gary to leave as well and was honestly shocked when he took her hand and started walking in the general direction of her room. She looked at him and he just shrugged at her indifferently. But she knew better, there was a sweetheart in there dammit! The elevator ride was quick and before they knew it they were taking the final turn to her room. They turned the corner and stopped abruptly, not expecting the sight before them._

_"No way."_

_Ash was sitting next to Misty's door, looking pretty unpleasant. He had probably been sitting there for a while now, too. Misty couldn't help but feel like Ash was acting like a mom waiting up for their daughter who had snuck out of the window. She wanted to be mad, but couldn't quite channel it. Shock was the only thing going through her mind; that, and a slight case of nervousness. She knew that she'd face Ash sooner or later, but couldn't it have waited until the morning?_

_"I'll see you tomorrow Misty."_

_He hugged her and kissed her forehead, lingering at her ear just long enough to give her some last minute encouragement._

_"Just imagine him naked, it'll help the nerves; not to mention have you running back to my room tonight from fear!"_

_"Gary!" She whispered back, he laughed._

_"Ok ok, I'm leaving."_

_"Oh, don't forget this." She slipped off his shirt._

_"Right, wouldn't want to forget that." He made a face at the shirt, causing her to giggle._

_She watched him disappear around a corridor. She waited until she heard the elevator open in the background. Sighing, she made her way to Ash, who was now standing with a pissed look on his face. Well, right about now she felt like needed sleep and Ash was the one obstacle in the way. But, as much as she wanted to just push past his sour lemon look and pass out, she figured she might as well hear him out now. He'd probably camp outside her door if she didn't._

_"How long have you been here Ash?" She tried to be polite._

_"How could you?" He stared at her point blank._

_"Excuse me?"_

_She narrowed her eyes and stared right back at him. Shit, if she had any doubts about being over Ash they sure as hell were gone now. The old Misty NEVER would've had the courage to face off against Ash against something like this. Petty arguments, sure, but Ash wasn't in a flirty obnoxious mood. He was pissed off; and you know what-? _

_"It's GARY, Misty. He's my rival, our rival! He dedicates his life to making people feel bad! Can't you see that he's only using you to get to me? He fears me and Pikachu and wants to tear me apart from the inside!"_

_-So was she._

_"Ash SHUT UP! You are the most selfish asshole I have ever met! Did it ever occur to you that this has nothing to do with you? That maybe I am perfectly capable of attracting men without my friendship with you! But, above all else, what I really want to know is who the fuck you think you are to come at me like this?!"_

_"Dammit Misty don't you know? You're my girl! I was going to become pokemon master and you'd be there cheering me on, by my side forever!"_

_So it was out now. He liked her. She had always known this fact to be true, she wasn't an idiot after all. But he had never actually said it aloud and, truth be told, it caught her off guard. She stopped her retort and just stared, stunned. Ash took her silence as a sign to go on._

_"Come on Misty. You know that whatever spell he put on you can't hold a candle to what we have. Snap out of it Misty!"_

_"Hahahahaha."_

_She couldn't help herself, it was just too much._

_"So this is what it's about. You can't let yourself lose to Gary. It really has nothing to do with me, I'm just the icing on the cake."_

_"No, there is no cake Misty. Just us. I lo-"_

_"Don't even try to say it!" She rose her voice again._

_"But it's true. It's always been about you Misty!"_

_"Liar! Do you even realize how much I have given up for you? The last 5 years of my life has been dedicated to you! Traveling around the world so you can get badges! I stood by and let it happen, putting my dreams on hold and ALL FOR YOU! You ungrateful jerk, how dare you stand in the way of my happiness and try to tell me that you love me!?"_

_Ash opened his mouth to speak but Misty cut him off._

_"No, I don't want to hear it! You ask me how I can date your rival, well why the fuck not? He's YOUR rival, not mine Ash! I am my own person with my own life! I am staying with him and if you don't like it then just is fine! But you better get the hell out of my way right now and let me get to my room before I hurt you myself!"_

_Ash looked shocked at her words and, for a second, she wondered if she had been to harsh on him. The thoughts were quickly brushed aside when he got his determined game face on, the very same face that used to make her knees go weak. But her knees were stable and she held her ground. Ash nodded and retreated, stopping for a second to say some last words._

_"This isn't over."_

The knocking continued at her door. She knew it was Ash, back for round 2. Not really feeling up to another fight she looked to her sisters for help. When she had come into their room last night her sisters stayed up and ate cookies and ice cream with her. She told them everything that had been going on and they, for once, listened and let her get it off her chest. Daisy got up to answer the door, angry that Ash was causing her sister to be so distressed.

"What do you want?" Daisy asked Ash in a flat tone.

"Daisy, I need to talk to Misty. She's making a big mistake!"

Misty shook, ready to punch Ash square in the jaw. She would've too, except Violet and Lily were sitting on either side of her holding her down.

"I'll only say this once. Leave now Ash."

"No Daisy. Misty should be with me, she knows it deep in her heart!" He tried again.

"Leave now or I'll have you arrested for harassment."

Daisy slammed the door and sighed. Misty gave her a grateful smile. Her sisters were all turning out to be pretty awesome. Maybe she would start insulting them less. The room phone rang and the 4 girls froze. They looked at each other, wide eyed, wondering what the hell was up now. Misty bravely answered it and smiled in relief, it was Gary.

"Hey, Brock just called me. Ash is heading your way AGAIN." She smiled.

"Yeah, Daisy threatened to have him arrested. It was bad ass."

There was silence for a second.

"Brock also told me what happened last night."

"Listen, I know what you're going to say and don't. You're not fucking up our friendship, that's all Ash. If he wants to be an ass then let him, I'm not leaving you and I told him as much. But, is there a way we can get out of here? I really just don't want to put up with him right now."

"C'mon Beautiful, have I ever denied you anything? Meet me out front in 5 minutes."

She hung up the phone a blushing mess. Her sisters gave her knowing looks that just made her blush go darker. She tried to ignore them and got herself ready. She went back to the baggy pants/black half shirt outfit, keeping her hair down. It was an easy outfit to move in and it made her feel pretty, can't beat that combo. She ran into the bathroom and brushed her teeth real quick before running out the door to meet Gary, not forgetting to thank her sisters for all that they did.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Where are we going?" Misty asked.

"You'll see." Was the only response she got.

After leaving her room Misty had went to the main entrance of the hotel, searching for Gary. She heard a horn honk and jumped, startled. It seemed that Gary had snagged the keys to Professor Oak's jeep. Misty smiled and got into the passenger's side, taking a minute to check out Gary's outfit. It was his old excavation outfit, the one he wore during the pokemon fossil boom a couple years ago, with a couple of tweaks. He traded the khakis in for his usual cargo jeans; and his brown hat had been replaced by a black one. The hat still looked goofy on him, though, so she grabbed it off his head and claimed it as her own, placing the fedora on her own head.

"You can keep stripping me if you feel like it." He grinned.

"Oh shut up." She shook her head, but didn't suppress the smile.

They drove for about 20 minutes before the landscape started looking familiar to Misty. It seemed that they were at the outskirts of Viridian City. She gave him a quizzical look, but Gary was an obnoxiously good driver and kept his eyes on the road the entire time. It was no surprise when they pulled up to the Viridian City Gym; it was Gary's gym after all. What she didn't understand was why he brought her there. Were they going to battle or something? Speaking of battles...

"Gary, what number did you draw yesterday?"

She saw him smirk proudly to himself and she just raised an eyebrow.

"Take a guess." She groaned.

"How am I supposed to know what number you got?" He laughed.

"Because I'm Gary Oak, Dummy. I drew number 1."

Well, that was a relief. One was so far from thirteen that she wouldn't even have to think of Gary. But that meant he would be in the first battle, it would probably be a good one. He led her through the gym to the back door. Gary's big backyard was well hidden by trees and the gym itself. She thought it was pretty funny now. There was just so much open space that it was crazy she didn't see it (use your imaginations).

"Welcome to my research lab." Gary said.

"Wow, it's so pretty." Misty smiled.

"Yeah. I wanted to show you this, and some of the things I research."

"Oh yeah! You study legendaries, I'll bet you've seen all sorts of things!"

She grew excited. These were the kind of pokemon that you hear about in fairytales when you're a little kid. You don't actually think that you'll see them in real life, yet here was Gary. In reality, it seemed pretty obvious that he study legendary pokemon. He had been an amazing pokemon trainer and also a great pokemon researcher, as she was learning. The boy seemed so naturally gifted in anything he pursued; it really wasn't shocking that he'd take on something so seemingly impossible.

"Kind of. I guess you can say I have, but there's still so much I haven't seen so I'm not satisfied yet." Misty nodded.

"Fair enough. But what have you seen?"

He smiled then. It made her stomach feel all butterfly-like because she knew it was a real smile and not just another smirk. He probably held his travel memories close to his heart. Shit, he had managed to somehow catch a Latios. Who knew what else he had done?

"Well, right about the middle of the Johto league I fell into a slump. I knew my days of badge collecting were numbered. I had already told my cheerleaders to go home and only traveled to Johto to try to recapture the fire I once had. When I first left home with Squirtle I was full of confidence. Shit, I even overkilled it with the badges. I had 10 when I first went to the Indigo Plateau. I think it was at the Indigo Plateau where I realized it wasn't for me."

Misty listened to his tale with interest. It was probably safe to bet that this was the first time he had ever opened up to anyone about himself.

"I saw Lance, and realized that the Pokemon Champion was just another celebrity. I already was famous. I wanted to believe that there was more to it than just collecting badges and fighting it out with other trainers. So, disillusioned, I went to Johto hoping that a new league would give me the jump start I needed. It didn't. After getting the first few badges I just woke up one morning and decided I was done with it. I knew I could have been the best, I'm a good trainer, but I just wanted some sort of purpose that being a pokemon trainer failed to fulfill."

By this time Gary was laying in the grass, staring up at the clouds. Misty laid her head on his stomach and continued listening to his tale.

"I think my grandpa knew how I was feeling. He sent me books about researching pokemon and started hinting to me that he could use a lab assistant. I found interest in his books, and read every one he sent. But, let's be serious, I was not going to spend the rest of my life trapped in Pallet Town as an assistant. I loved traveling way too much. It put me at a crossroad: I could continue badge collecting, take the easy way out by using the Oak name to work alongside my grandpa or I could do my own thing. It kind of depressed me; and, for a while, I was kind of in a vegetable state wandering around from town to town not knowing what my purpose was."

She snuggled her head into his stomach, letting him know that she was still listening and wanted to hear the rest.

"I was pretty down. I was lonely and had even stopped catching pokemon for a while. It seems so silly now, but I was really depressed. I was even playing with the idea of coming back to Pallet by the last few weeks. But then a miracle happened. Just when I needed a pick me up the most I got it. Somewhere in the woods she appeared. This chance meeting is what inspired me to study legendary pokemon. She stays in a pokeball, but only because she wants to be close to me. We both know that she can leave anytime she wants; and because of that she stays. She is nothing short of a miracle, and having her as my companion make me nothing short of blessed."

Misty felt Gary moving so she sat up to give him space. She saw him pull out a pink and white pokeball, probably custom made, and released the pokemon inside.

"Oh my god..." Misty covered her mouth. No way.

"You're the first person besides me to meet her." Gary smiled.

"It's not... There's no way... Is this really a Mew?"

Misty's eyes bugged out of her head. She couldn't believe she was really looking at the oldest pokemon alive. She knew that it was rumored that Mew held the DNA of every living pokemon. And to have one in front of her! It was amazing. But, she blinked, was she seeing things right? Was that really a yellow and green yin yang around its neck? It was! Not only was she seeing a Mew, but she was seeing a Mew with an actual necklace dangling from its neck. Funnily enough, the necklace was so long it came all the way down to its lower stomach.

"It's my old necklace. She used to play with it all the time so I just gave it to her as a present." Gary said.

Misty nodded, still not quite believing her eyes. Mew was a really cute pokemon, and this one obviously had a close bond with Gary. It was floating in circles around Gary's head, the two laughing about it. She timidly stepped forward and Mew turned to face her. It cocked its head, apparently confused as to why she was so nervous. She felt Gary grab her hand and brought it to Mew's coat, which was surprisingly soft. Mew snuggled into her hand, happy with the thought of a new friend. Gary smiled and addressed Mew.

"Mew, this is Misty. She's a really good friend of mine. She wants to know about our adventures. Won't you show her?"

Mew giggled and flipped a few times, happy to oblige. A pink aura formed around Mew and suddenly Misty was floating. The world around her turned to white and the she reappeared in what she could only assume were Mew's memories.

_She saw Gary encounter all three legendary birds- Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres- and, with Mew's help, draw out Lugia. It seemed as if Gary had gone to visit the birds several times because the scenery changed- each bird individually living in different locations- and she also saw Gary age through the memories, coming back to visit the birds through the years._

_She also saw him running through the fields, trying his hardest to catch up to Raikou. They played this tag-like game several times before Raikou actually let Gary get close. Somewhere around this time Gary must have caught Latios because in one of the Raikou chases Gary is riding on Latios' back. She sees Raikou and Gary saying goodbye and promising to see each other again. Mew seems to be sure of it._

_Next comes a few memories of people Gary met along the way. Misty recognized Pyramid King Brandon, the only man known to own all the Regis. This memory is particularly choppy because Mew isn't always there. Next she's in the trees watching Gary talk to an older Ritchie, Ash's friend, about Jirachi. Apparently Ritchie had encountered one and was recounting it for Gary. Lastly there was Morty telling Gary about Ho-oh. She couldn't help but notice how young Gary was in this memory, it was probably during his initial visit to the Johto League._

_Now she found herself in a dark cave. Gary was talking to her, probably Mew, about the rumors surrounding the cave and the 'weird ass Wallace guy.' So that meant he was at the Cave of Origin and had spoken to Wallace beforehand. Suddenly Gary was falling, probably due to wandering in closed off areas of the cave. She saw Mew look around and realized that Gary uncovered a secret cavern. Gary gasped and she followed his eyes. It was Kyogre and Groudon! They were both there, sleeping. There's a few variations of this memory, meaning Gary came back a few times. The last scene is Gary calling Mew over to a corner of the room to investigate an object. It was a PokeEgg!_

_Now she was back at the gym, but still in Mew's memories. Gary was telling her about how this would be their home for a little bit. Time obviously passes and Gary looks older, these last memories not being that long ago. The mysterious egg hatched in a Riolu; she saw Gary excitedly chatting on the phone with Professor Oak about how they were though to be extinct. Apparently Entei had also come to visit at some point in time. She was now in the backyard watching Entei and Arcanine playing in the grass._

_The final memory was also in the backyard. Gary was fumbling with a camera and then he ran back. There was a flash and then she saw Gary give Mew the picture, asking her opinion. There was Gary in the middle; he had his arm slung over Lucario's shoulders (Riolu evolved?);on either side of them was Latios and Latias (when had he caught a Latias?); and, above them was Mew- floating in the air with Gary's necklace dangling from her neck. Mew really liked the picture. _

Misty's vision went white again and she knew she was coming back. She opened her eyes to find Gary and Mew looking down at her. She smiled and got up. Wow was all she could think. She had watched Gary grow up through the different memories and she was able to appreciate how many years he had dedicated in the name of his research. And it sure as hell paid off, those memories reminded her of things you would see in movies; and he had actually lived them? It was mind blowing!

"That was the condensed version. There were many times where we'd get a lead and it'd end up just not panning out. But it was really worth it when we did get to meet the pokemon." Misty nodded enthusiastically.

"I'll bet. That was so awesome, I just can't believe you actually did those things! I wish I could have been there." Gary chuckled.

"Well, it's nice to know someone appreciates my research."

"Trust me, Gary. When you release this to the public they will have a field day! It's really something else."

"Thanks. But my research still isn't complete. I haven't met Suicune, for example; and I never tracked down a Rayquaza. There was supposed to be a Sky Pillar, but between Mew, Latios and Latias we never found it."

Misty nodded then quickly remembered her question from earlier.

"Gary, why didn't I see you catch Latios or Latias?"

"Hmm, I guess Mew wasn't there for either event. You saw everything through her eyes. If she wasn't there when I caught them then they wouldn't be in her memories. Actually, there were a couple notable events that she slept through now that I think about it."

Misty and Gary laughed and laid back down in the grass. The day was spent at the gym. Mew played with their pokemon and it was just a calm, happy day. Of course there were the stolen kisses, lots of stolen kisses, and loving embraces but it made the day that much better for Misty. She could honestly say that she was a little bit bummed to see the sun starting to set. It was so refreshing to be here with Gary that she had honestly forgotten about the tournament and Ash for a while.

"I guess we have to head back, don't we?" Gary asked.

"Yeah, it looks that way." Misty said absentmindedly.

"Oh yeah! Wait here real quick!"

Misty watched Gary run back into the gym real quick. She noticed that Mew also looked slightly confused and the two shared a look. But it wasn't for long, Gary re-emerged within minutes with something blue in his hands. She tried to get a closer look but Gary was purposefully trying to hide the item from view. She felt him reach for her head? No, the black hat. He skillfully did something then smiled at her.

Misty pulled out her compact mirror and focused on her head and the hat, which now had a blue feather coming out of it. She grinned, loving the blue feather. It added character to the hat. Not only did the hat now match her shirt, but it made her feel cool. Like she was Frankie Sonata, the jazzy rattata pack singer that Professor Oak had listened to during the ride from Cerulean City. Hahaha. She put her compact back in her pocket and jumped into Gary's arms, giving him a hug.

"The hat looks way sexy on you. I want you to keep it; and that's a real Articuno feather, so you better treat it good."

"Wow really? It's an Articuno's feather? Hehe that's so cool."

Articuno was her favorite legendary pokemon growing up. She doubted Gary knew that, but it was still super awesome!

"I know I know, I'm the best." Gary grinned.

"Something like that. But we have to get back, Gary! The tournament starts tomorrow and I want my beauty sleep!" She saw him roll his eyes.

"Ok. Mew, do you want to stay here or come along?"

Misty watched the exchange, suddenly understanding what Gary meant when he was talking about Mew choosing to stay in a pokeball. It seemed that Mew wanted to come back to the Indigo Plateau with Gary, so it went into the pokeball on its own. Gary picked up Mew's ball from the ground and reattached it to his belt. Misty understood now. Mew chose to be in the ball and could come out whenever it pleased. Mew wasn't Gary's pokemon; rather, Gary's companion who had a portable apartment all to itself.

Misty waited out in the jeep as Gary turned off all the lights and made sure that the gym was locked. He climbed into the car and pulled her onto his lap, capturing her lips in a kiss. She sucked on his lip as he rubbed his hands on her cold back. She slid her tongue into his mouth, pulling him back in for another kiss. They finally separated and she laid her head on his chest as he held her close.

"You know, you know more about me then my own family. It's weird, I just feel comfortable talking to you despite knowing you for barely a week. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd show Mew to another person. It's very strange, but I like it. I like having you here to talk to, to trust. It makes me feel really content and happy with everything I have going on right now."

She couldn't see his face, but she knew he was probably blushing. This was definitely not the type of thing she was used to hearing from Gary. It made her heart melt, knees go weak and stomach explode with butterflies all at the same time; and it was in that moment that she realized that, even if she wanted to, it was too late to back out now.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another 20 minute ride and they were back at the Indigo Plateau. On the way to the hotel they passed the Main Stadium. Since it was a 3 day tournament, all of the battles would be taking place there. The tournament board was posted and Misty turned to glance at it. The car was moving so she only had enough time to check one thing. But oh what a thing she had checked.

_Battle 7_

_13 (Misty of Cerulean City)_

_vs_

_14 (Roxanne of Rustboro City)_

Whichever god that had been laughing at her all week had finally decided to cut her a break. So Roxanne had drawn number 14, how lucky! It wasn't that Misty didn't like Roxanne, it's just that the girl was CONSTANTLY trying to get with Gary. Being paired off against her was the best possible thing that could happen! That way she wouldn't have to have a big confrontation but could still demolish her.

Roxanne better watch out because she was getting pumped!

She knew that this match would be fun. Oh yes, and she intended to enjoy every last second of it.


	10. Chapter 10

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: WE MADE IT TO THE TOURNAMENT! This chapter might seem a little bit speedy, I'm just trying to fit everything in without making it go on and on and on... I promise that next chapter will be masive back to back battles; I'll reach for the stars and say that it'll be realeased on Wednesday. Yes Wednesday.

And hey! **Icky Vicky**,** The Cheez**, and** -Rhii- **I saw that you all added me as a favorite or at least put me on alert. I'd love to actually get some feedback from you guys! I don't bite, honest!

Read and Review please!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 10

Ready, Steady, Go!

----------

No sooner did she close her eyes did tomorrow arrive in full force. For the first time Misty could ever remember she was awoken by her sisters. Chitter chatter filled her ears as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. All 3 of her sisters were in the bathroom, seemingly excited over something or other.

"What's going on you guys?" She started dressing, realizing that the opening ceremonies would be starting in about an hour.

"Misty it's, like, a dream come true!"

Lily came bouncing out of the bathroom, pink hair perfectly styled. She ran up to Misty and squeezed her in a big hug.

"Lance called. He, like, totally wants us to sing the... anthem thingy." Lily looked confused for a second.

"Hang on. So you guys get to sing the national anthem for the biggest event ever?" Misty asked, smiling broadly.

"YES!"

Daisy and Violet emerged from the bathroom just in time to catch Misty and Lily hugging bouncing around the room together. Misty quickly ran up to her other sisters and hugged them too. It really wasn't her thing to squeal and bounce, but she couldn't help it! She knew how much performing meant to her sisters; how much THIS meant to her sisters. They had always been amazing and now the whole world would know! It truly was a dream come true for her sisters and Misty, for once, was happy to just let them have their spotlight.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"One! Two! We're almost there!"

Misty turned to Flannery, giving her an incredulous look. They were both sweating and panting. She felt a squeeze on her hand and looked at Gary, who was not out of breath; in fact, he looked the same as he did when this nightmare began! Damned men and their working out. She groaned as she felt her side starting to cramp up. How the hell had she ended up in this mess?

_The opening ceremonies had just started. All of the competitors were sitting in the hotel lobby. Outside was a reporter who was covering everything, giving an opening introduction speech. Even the elite four were in the lobby, chatting it up with some of the other gym leaders._

_"Um, excuse me, I need to take your picture now for the promotional posters now."_

_"Oh, can't you come back for us later?" Misty asked; she hated getting her picture taken._

_"Miss Misty, I've already gotten the rest of the competitors." The photographer sighed._

_"Oh alright."_

_Misty, along with her friends, entered a room with a few different backdrops. They were elemental backdrops and Misty could put two and two together. She went over to the water one while Flannery went fire, Brawly and Brock both went to the ground one and Gary, he just stood. Misty gave him a look and he shrugged- it was a pretty well known fact that the Viridian City gym had never really had a particular element. He looked around the room and walked over to a backdrop that showed the sky, meant for flying types._

_"Ok, I need all of you to choose one of your pokemon to be in the poster with you. The photographer said._

_"Yeah yeah, let's just get this over with! Pokeball go!" Gary was getting impatient._

_"Whoa, that's awesome!" Brawly exclaimed._

_Misty smacked her head, trust Gary to be a show off. But, she was just as impressed as the rest of them; how in the hell did he get an Aerodactyl? To her knowledge, there was no way to bring back the dead... or was there?_

_"I studied with a group of scientists who had a machine that would restore pokemon fossils. It was pure luck that I dug up an Aerodactyl fossil."_

_"Lucky duck." Flannery grinned and threw her pokeball._

_"Ninetails go!"_

_"Come out Hariyama!"_

_Misty looked at Brock, wondering what pokemon he would choose. It'd probably be Onix. But then again, it had been years since she traveled with Brock and who knows what kind of pokemon he had now? She watched him throw his pokeball. Golem. Somehow it didn't surprise her that he had one, she remembered him telling her that he wanted a Golem years ago._

_"Your turn Gyarados!"_

_Once the pokemon were out it was pretty easy to take the shots. A couple of poses and they were done. Flannery bounced over to where Misty was and had the photographer take a couple of shots of the two of them wearing their matching outfits. The photographer promised to give them the finished copies._

_"Well, I'm sure happy I got your pictures before the run." The photographer smiled._

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Well, all of you competitors are going to be running behind the torch carrier."_

_"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?"_

Almost there now. Misty cried out in happiness as the Stadium came into view. There was cheering all around her. Fans from all over the nation had come to support their favorite gym leaders. Before she knew it they were in the center of the stadium, which was filled to the max with fans. Misty saw Ash and May sitting in the front row, neither looking too cheery. She instead focused on the stage in the center of the arena, where her sister were standing.

"And now, the Sensational Sisters of Cerulean City singing the national anthem!"

They started singing and Misty smiled. So here were her sisters, doing what they do best. She laughed to herself as she saw their shirts. Daisy's read 'Go Misty,' Violet's read 'Misty is #1,' and Lily's had a picture of her face. That probably wasn't very smart politically, but she somehow assumed that her sisters could care less. It was pretty awesome to know that they were behind her. They finished the anthem to roaring applause.

"Give it up for the Sensational Sisters! Now, without further ado, let's get this tournament underway! Match 1: Gary of Viridian vs. Clair of Blackthorn!"

Murmurs went throughout the crowd as the excess competitors left the arena. Gary was a brand new gym leader who really hadn't built up a reputation yet. Clair, on the other hand, was a practically unbeatable dragon mistress. Misty turned to go to the waiting room but was stopped. Her wrist had been grabbed and she turned to see Gary smiling at her.

"I think we're allowed to have one person at ringside and I know how bad you want to watch me..." Gary smirked and trailed off.

"Oh how perceptive you are." She said in a flat voice.

"Let's get this started Oak!" Clair yelled, seemingly very confident in herself.

"Ok this will be a two pokemon battle. Trainers! Select your first pokemon... Begin!"

The crowd went wild as the battle began. Clair smirked and threw her first pokeball, a pumped up Dragonair emerging. Misty looked on as the cheers only got louder. She wondered which pokemon Gary would choose. She didn't have to wait long, though. He threw his pokeball and out came the same Aerodactyl that he called during the photo shoot. A collective gasp went out threw the crowd and Gary smirked, loving every minute of it. It was time to get the show started.

"Aerodactyl use agility!"

Aerodactyl roared and took to the skies. Clair snapped out of her shock and put Dragonair to work.

"Dragon Rush now!"

"Oh please. Aerodactyl you can dodge that. Show them the might of Ancientpower!"

Dragonair's wings spread and it, too, took to the air. As it charged Aerodactyl just watched on with a bored expression. It was pretty obvious that it was trained by Gary. The two pokemon met in a super clash. Misty held her breath and watched. Just as Gary predicted, Aerodactyl dodged Dragonair's attack with ease and sent in flying into the ground with Ancientpower.

"After it, Take Down Aerodactyl!"

Misty jumped out of her seat with anticipation. Aerodactyl charged after the falling Dragonair and slammed into in the moment it touched the ground. It was over for Dragonair.

"Damn it! Dragonair return, Kingdra go!" Clair sent her second pokeball.

"Hmm, Kingdra is your signature pokemon right, Clair?" Gary asked nonchalantly.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"I'm ready for a real challenge! Aerodactyl use Dragon Claw!"

Misty couldn't believe Gary. Even in the heat of battle he had to go and run his cocky mouth! But, in truth, Clair had been running her mouth beforehand about how Gary was nothing more than a spoiled rich boy who probably didn't work for what he had. She had never seen Gary give this much attitude to anyone (besides Ash), he had probably heard her earlier insults and was not a happy camper. Kingdra was hit full force.

"Kingdra no! Water Pulse!"

Aerodactyl landed, standing its ground. Misty looked at Gary, wondering why he didn't make an attempt to dodge, and saw that he had a concentrated look on his face. Aerodactyl was hit by the attack full force, but it didn't budge. Clair ordered Kingdra to charge.

"Now! There's your opening Aerodactyl, Giga Impact!"

Clair had no time to call back her attack. A distressed look crossed her features as Kingdra was sent flying. Misty figured that she sure didn't expect to be cut in the first round. Not to mention that she wasn't simply beat, she was demolished. Gary had only used one pokemon to beat two of her strongest; and the only damage done to Aerodactyl had been a strategic move. The whole arena was silent, no one had expected the great Clair to be beaten by a virtual unknown. But once the announcer declared Gary the victor the silence was broken, cheers came in every direction. Gary Oak had arrived.

"Gary you did it!"

Misty ran over to him and tackled him in a hug. He caught her in the air and spun her around. Talk about a great end to the first match in the tournament. Once she was done being spun Misty landed on her feet. Gary dipped her low and planted a fat one on her right there in the center of the arena. If possible, the crowd cheered even louder! Misty smiled and threw her head back and laughed, it seemed as if the world approved. But, in the back of her mind she knew that there was at least one person in the crowd that was not pleased.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Let's keep going! Match 7 is Misty of Cerulean taking on Roxanne of Rustboro. Give it up!"

Misty got up to leave the waiting room with her head held high. She heard several different people wishing her good luck and smiled. She had been looking forward to her match all morning and was happy it was finally here. She felt Flannery throw her arm around her shoulders.

"Hey Gary, would you mind if I sat ringside? I want a front row seat for the chickfight if the century!" Flannery grinned.

"Knock yourself out. I know Misty won't lose." Gary said confidently.

Misty gave a thumbs up and went to the battle ring. She heard the crowd cheering and walked to her side, Flannery taking a seat behind her. She saw Roxanne staring right back at her and they had a moment of understanding. This was no longer about Gary or the tournament; it was just two trainers seeing who was better.

"Nosepass go!"

"Come out Vaporeon!"

The two pokemon stared each other down. Misty had full confidence in her Vaporeon, it had gotten her through the fight with Tate and Liza. She was aware that Roxanne was well known as a rock pokemon trainer, meaning that she had an obvious type advantage.

"Nosepass use Rollout!"

Vaporeon was hit by the attack. It didn't do too much damage so Misty assumed she was in the clear for this turn.

"Surf Vaporeon!"

The arena filled itself with water and Nosepass was hit hard. It didn't faint, however, and hit Vaporeon for the second time with a stronger rollout attack. Misty was ready with a counterattack, but Vaporeon flinched! It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out what was coming.

"One more time Nosepass!"

Third time proved to be the charm. Vaporeon was hit by the attack, which had steadily grown stronger, and was out before it even hit the ground. Misty heard Flannery cursing up a storm behind her and laughed. Hope wasn't up yet. She was down a pokemon but so what? She had seen Ash hop back from much worse odds than this. She just had to be smarter this next time around. It was do or die time and Misty felt herself getting into the zone. It had been far too long since she had actually fought a good battle.

"Starmie you have this!" Misty threw her second pokeball.

"Nosepass keep Rolling Out!"

Misty smirked; she wouldn't fall for that trick again. Starmie had been her very first pokemon, raised from a Staryu. It had never once let her down and she knew it wasn't going to start now.

"Starmie, Rapid Spin into the sky to dodge it!"

Starmie successfully dodged Nosepass and hit it from behind.

"Quick, while Nosepass is confused, use Bubblebeam!"

Nosepass didn't stand a chance. It caught the full power of Starmie's attack and fainted almost immediately. Misty saw Roxanne grit her teeth in anger as she threw her next pokeball. An angry looking Lairon emerged, ready to turn Starmie into sashimi.

"Rock Tomb Lairon, trap that Starmie!"

Rocks fell all around Starmie, Misty gasped as she saw the brilliance of Roxanne's plan. With Starmie trapped it couldn't dodge the attacks of the massive Lairon; so even with the type advantage she was still looking at a major disadvantage. She used her quick thinking and came up with a plan. She sure hoped it worked, though, or else she'd be torn to shreds.

"Starmie confuse Lairon with Psychic!" Lairon used its back as a shield, lowering the attack potency of Starmie's attack.

"Lairon Iron Tail!"

"Starmie use Brine now!" Misty yelled frantically.

Starmie glowed as it entered a meditative state, ignoring the Lairon that was swinging its tail at the moment. Misty closed her eyes and said a quick prayer for Starmie. It was all a matter of time now. There was a moment of silence as Lairon's tail came crashing down, a pile of smoke blocking the view. Misty only prayed that Starmie avoided the attack in time.

"Starmie, I know that you're ok! I believe in you! It's time to end this, Hydro Pump!"

The crowd watched as the dust slowly settled. When a broken boulder was revealed the crowd went wild. But, where was Starmie? The question was quickly answered as Starmie sent off an overcharged Hydro Pump straight into Lairon's skull.

"What? How?" Roxanne asked.

"The secret is Brine. As long as your health is less than half then Starmie's power doubles. I know that I wouldn't be able to one-hit Lairon so I just made sure to damage it enough with an unavoidable attack, Psychic. When Lairon was ready to Iron Tail Starmie into oblivion I had it meditate, causing its power to double. It doubled in just enough time to allow Starmie to dodge your attack; and now, since Starmie's power has doubled there's no way that Lairon would be able to continue fighting after being hit by Hydro Pump."

Misty's words rang true and Lairon came crashing down to the ground. The match was over. She looked into the crowd and saw her sisters cheering; with them was Psyduck, happily flapping its arms. Flannery gave her a high five and Misty finally let herself smile. She did it. She beat Roxanne the wannabe boyfriend stealer. She was one step closer to victory. Now, that was a pretty sweet ass feeling.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The rest of the day passed as an action packed blur. Misty sat ringside as Brock beat Juan, proving that a type advantage really wasn't everything. Brawly beat both Tate and Liza in a doubles match with his Hariyama and Primeape. And, in a monumental battle, Flannery beat her good friend Winona who had Wallace the Hoenn Pokemon Champion in her corner. So, with all her friends moving on to round 2 Misty got into her bed, knowing that tomorrow would bring more better battles.

After a couple of hours of tossing and turning Misty finally drifted off into dreamland. Tomorrow only came too soon and before she knew it she was out of bed and preparing for the upcoming battle. Looking out the window, Misty decided that today would be an excellent day. She heard someone knocking at her door and she bounced over to answer it. She was met with a grim looking Brock.

"Hey Brock, what's up?" He sighed.

"Well, I have bad news or worse news." Misty's face fell, so much for an excellent day.

"Ok, start of with the bad news."

"We're fighting each other in the next round." She gasped.

"What! But I don't want to face you! We were supposed to make it 'til the end! Oh hell. If that was the bad news then what could be worse?" Misty braced herself for the worst.

"Ash had a talk with Gary." Misty's eyes snapped open.

"What?"

"He tried telling Gary that he better stay away from you or else."

Who the fuck did Ash Ketchum think he was!? How dare he go and bring his little boy drama to Gary! It shouldn't surprise her, Ash was known to go to the extremes when he wanted something, but it did. She would not let him ruin this. It was time that she had a little talk with Ash herself.

"What room are you in Brock?" Brock looked her in the eye.

"Misty don't do anything drastic. Gary told Ash to go to hell; he's not buying into Ash's game and he's not leaving you. I'm only telling you because I think that you had a right to know. It's not smart to approach Ash now, he didn't take lightly to Gary's words and started yelling right in the middle of the lobby. He's in a bad mood and so are you, it's not a good mix."

"What room Brock?" Misty asked again.

"212."

"Thanks Brock. I promise I'll try to keep cool. I just need him to stop acting like a jealous boyfriend, he lost his chance and I think it's time he realized that."

She made her way to room 212 with a very pissed look on her face. She might've told Brock that she would keep her cool, but it was only to appease him. She was severely pissed off. Ash had no damn right to interfere with her life like this. She stopped short of the room when she saw May blocking her path. May didn't look happy, but it paled in comparison to Misty's anger. That puny piece of jailbait better move because now was definitely not the time to push her patience.

"Out of my way." Misty looked square at May.

"No." Misty felt an eerie sense of calm at the moment, almost too calm.

"Listen May, you're an all right kid and I don't want to hurt you. Get the hell out of my way!"

"No." May refused to budge.

Misty watched as May threw down the newspaper for every day she had been at the Indigo Plateau. On every paper an article had been highlighted, all of them having to do with her own love life. There were pieces on her and Brawly as well as Gary, apparently the press didn't know which man she was actually with.

"Every day Ash slaved over these. It hurt him but he still read, wanting to know anything about you. Then we get here and he sees you with _him_. His rival! I respected you Misty, hearing nothing but the best about you from both Ash and Brock, I never thought you would just turn your back on him like this! Ash loves you! And what do you do? Threaten to call the police on him! You're nothing but a low class bitch."

Misty saw red for a second and just lost it. She grabbed May and slammed her into the wall, holding her there by a fistful of shirt. May was too terrified to speak.

"Don't you fucking dare talk to me about things you can't even begin to understand."

"Misty no! Put her down!" Brock came running to the two girls.

"You know nothing about my relationship with Ash or Gary. Nothing at all."

Misty released the younger girl and glared. She knew that she had been this close to really hurting May. May probably didn't even realize how lucky she really was-

"You could never beat me in a real battle. That's why you resort to violence, hurting people is all you're good for." May spat.

-Or maybe she just had a death threat?

"Is that a challenge? You're on Little Girl."

Brock just groaned and slapped his forehead. _Women_.


	11. Chapter 11

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: I did it! I promised an update on Wednesday and here it is! It's a little short, but that's because I'm holding out for the next chapter. This is mainly about Misty and May whereas next chapter will be battle after battle after battle. How do I know? Well, I've already started it! I'll have it out either this weekend or early next week, yup. Oh! I have a request for everyone. I'm running out of phrases to use when a trainer sends out their pokemon. If people could please send me more phrases so that my vocabulary will expand further than 'pokeball go' I'd love it. And hey, I might just use your quote in the upcoming chapters!

You know, this is the first chapter since chapter one where I haven't opened with Misty waking up. It's also the first time in this story where I will have a single day spanning over a few chapters. So this chapter, the next chapter and possibly the one after that will all be the same day (Saturday). Just wanted to clear that up ahead of time.

And I'm giving a special shout out to **-Rhii-** for finally reviewing, hope you enjoy this chapter!

Happy day I finally updated on time! Reviews are the only thing that could make it better!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 11

Breaking the Girl

----------

The two girls silently walked out to the courtyard. It was a well hidden place and Misty wanted it that way, this was her personal vendetta and the world wasn't invited. She noticed that Brock was walking between the two of them. It was probably for the better, who knows what would've happened if he hadn't interfered? He gave her a tiny smile and suddenly the world seemed to be that much better. It was definitely reassuring that Brock didn't absolutely hate her guts for lying to him earlier. But still, there was a knot that was not allowing this matter to go unattended.

"Sorry Brock." She kept her eyes low.

"Oh Mist, I've known you long enough to know when you're really pissed. I mean, give me more credit girl!"

"Why are you apologizing to Brock when it's Ash who obviously deserves all that and more!" May snapped.

Misty watched as Brock turned to address her.

"May you should've stayed out of this. Misty's right when she says that you really don't understand what's going on."

They took opposite sides of the makeshift battleground and Brock stayed in the middle, acting as referee. If anything, Misty was highly amused with May's confidence. The kid actually thought she was going to win! She figured that May had it in her brain that she'd defeat her in Ash's honor or some shit like that. But, it was time to face reality. Ash was being a jackass and she wasn't going to go easy on May just because she was inexperienced.

"Skitty I choose you!"

Was she serious? Misty just blinked, not quite believing her eyes. A Skitty? May wanted to fight her with a Skitty? Now this was just pathetic.

"Gyarados go." Misty said icily.

"Ok, I'm making this a three pokemon match. Basic rules apply and keep in mind that the tournament battles start in 20 minutes!" Misty glared at her friend.

"Don't insult me Brock." May fumed.

"Don't you get overconfident with me! Skitty use Quick Attack now!"

Skitty bounced cutely and got a serious look on its face. It sped up and ran from side to side, becoming a white blur. May smiled triumphantly, probably assuming that this would take down her mighty Gyarados. Skitty jumped into the sky, aiming for Gyarados' head. Misty rolled her eyes. This was not a gym match against a noob trainer who was just starting out; there was no reason for her to hold back Gyarados' true ability.

"Knock it out of the sky Gyarados, Aqua Tail." Misty said calmly.

If this were baseball Gyarados had just hit a home run. Skitty flew through the sky just about to hit its target when Gyarados easily blocked its attack at swat it away with its tail. Skitty slammed into the ground hard, creating a massive crater, and May grit her teeth in anger.

"Skitty return! Beautifly show her what we're really made of!"

"Gyarados Dragon Dance now!" Misty yelled.

"Perfect now's our chance, X-scissor Beautifly!"

Gyarados powered up, increasing both its attack and speed. It growled in annoyance at its lack of time to dodge Beautifly's attack. Although Gyarados' intimidate ability cut Beautifly's attack it didn't change the fact that it got hit. Beautifly slammed into Gyarados' head then flew away fast before it was eaten.

"Blizzard Gyarados."

"No! Try to dodge it Beautifly!" May yelled in a panic.

Brock couldn't help himself, he gave May an incredulous look along with Misty.

"You can't dodge a blizzard May." Misty said in a skeptic voice, not quite sure if May was serious.

"I know that dammit! Beautifly return, Combusken we will take that Gyarados down!"

Misty knew that Torchic was May's prized pokemon. Obviously it had evolved into a Combusken, meaning that it was pretty strong pokemon. But... was she serious?

"Hydro Pump at full power Gyarados." Misty said effortlessly, it was almost too easy.

Combusken was pounded by the burst of water. Misty kept her face stoic as she watched the brave fire chicken get pummeled into the ground. Once she was sure Combusken was down for the count she called Gyarados off. May ran over to her Combusken and told it that it had done a job well done before she called it back into its pokeball. Misty sighed; May really was a good girl deep down, they had just crossed paths at the wrong moment.

"Combusken is unable to battle! I'm sorry May, but the victor is Misty."

Misty saw May's eyes lower in shame. She was probably thinking that she had let Ash down by being beaten so shamefully. Honestly, Gyarados took down her three pokemon without even breaking a sweat. Misty walked over to the kid, feeling like she should try to cheer her up but not quite understanding why. May should have kept her bitchy comments to herself and shouldn't have butted her head where it didn't belong. Damned motherly instinct.

"I'm not going to gloat. You're the one who demanded this battle, after all." Was all she could muster.

They started walking to the battle arena. The first match of day 2 was set to start in about 15 minutes and Misty didn't want to miss Gary's match.

"Why did you do it Misty? I thought that you and Ash were best friends. How could you shut him out like this?" May asked.

Misty looked into May's eyes. It appeared that May was being sincere in her curiosity, so why not answer her question?

"Every single encounter I've had with Ash since he's arrived has been bad. I'm sure you've seen how stubborn he can get, especially when he thinks he's right." May nodded.

"You got that right."

"Well, he honestly thinks he's doing the right thing by tracking me down and screaming at me. He's not. I'm entitled to live my own life." Brock stayed silent.

"But Gary Oak! Misty, that's his rival!" May pleaded, still not understanding.

"You don't even know him, May. You wouldn't even know that they were once rivals if Ash hadn't told you stories of the past. Don't you see? That's the problem. Ash is too caught up in the past." Misty sighed.

"What do you mean? Arg, none of this is making sense!" May pulled at her hair in frustration.

"Ash is stuck in the past. Times have changed and Ash refuses to acknowledge that. I'll always love Ash, but I've moved on; and Gary's not the same guy he was when Ash was younger. It's actually ridiculously unfair of him to expect us to be the same people we were so many years ago."

"Ok, I guess that makes sense. But I saw him yesterday! He was being a total jerk to Clair during their match!" May tried again.

"Well, Clair was being a bitch backstage where the world couldn't see. Gary's cocky, yes, but he shows respect where it's due." Brock cleared his throat.

"You'll get to see it first hand, May. Isn't your dad in the first round?" Misty gasped.

"That's right. He drew number three, then won his match yesterday and is fighting the winner of round one from yesterday... oh."

There was silence for a second.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Misty yelled.

The three of them took off running to the stadium. Who knew what the next match would bring? Either way, someone would win and someone would lose. But, it really didn't matter too much. Misty had full faith in Gary and she was sure that May had full faith in Norman. May. She wasn't too bad of a kid. A little bit on the mouthy side, but she had a good heart. She could see why Ash treasured her so much; even if she was jailbait a la mode. But maybe, just maybe, May would figure out that Gary wasn't that bad a guy and pass the message on to Ash. And once Ash eventually cooled down? Well, then Misty would finally be ready to sit down and talk to him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks to Brock and Misty's gym leader influence they managed to sneak May backstage. The only catch was that she'd have to leave once her dad's match was over. It was a fair enough stipulation. So now, moments later, both May and Misty were sitting at ringside; well sort of- they kept to the shadows so that Ash wouldn't see them. He was in his usual front row seat with an almost scary intense look on his face. The announcer called out the competitors and cheers filled the entire stadium, there was an even bigger turnout today and there was a full crowd of people in the surrounding streets watching on a big screen.

"Hey Red, why are you hiding in the shadows?" Gary cocked his head, giving May a suspicious glance.

"We're trying to avoid being seen by Ash, don't want his head to explode seeing us sitting together." Misty giggled.

"May, I'm glad you made it. Have you met my daughter Gary? I'd try to set you up if you didn't already have a beautiful girlfriend." Norman walked up, smiling.

"DAD!" May yelled, blushing hardcore.

"What? I know you have his poster up in your room back home." Norman held his hands up, feigning innocence.

"I'm sorry Sir but I don't think I'm ever letting this one go." Gary gave her a big hug.

"Oh young love. But please Gary, just call me Norman. 'Sir' makes me feel old." Gary nodded.

The announcer interrupted then.

"Where are our competitors?!" Misty giggled.

"Good luck you guys." The two men nodded and went to start their battle.

"Um, Misty, about that." May started.

"Spare me. I have three older sisters, I know how it can get." The younger girl smiled, feeling relieved.

The match finally kicked off. The two competitors stared each other down, trying to figure out the other. Misty knew that Norman was a master of normal type pokemon and, according to Ash, had a ferocious Slaking in his arsenal. Gary, on the other hand, was really sporadic in his choice of pokemon. Misty knew that he preferred to use ancient, super rare or legendary-ish pokemon; but this was still a broad guesstimate. The only real way to know was to keep watching and that was exactly what she did.

"Arcanine I choose you!" Gary threw his pokeball.

"Snorlax go! Body Slam it!"

An alert looking Snorlax emerged from its pokeball, leaping high into the air ready to land on Arcanine. It was unlike anything Misty had ever seen. Snorlax were lazy by nature and, despite being fat, Norman's Snorlax looked like it could easily run 10 miles no problem. Poor Arcanine never stood a chance. If it got hit by that Body Slam it was lights out for sure. Misty closed her eyes and looked away.

"Now Arcanine! Extremespeed!"

The crowd gasped as Arcanine literally turned into a blur. Snorlax crashed into the ground with Arcanine escaping by mere milliseconds. Gary grinned as Arcanine hit Snorlax with its speedy charge attack. Misty groaned loudly, damn him and his dramatics.

"He likes making a scene, huh?" May asked.

"That's for sure."

Norman quickly ordered Snorlax to rest. Snorlax had inadvertently took double damage from the fluke of the last attack. Misty did the calculations in her head: Gary had 3 turns before Snorlax woke up. What would he do?

"Will-o-wisp, make sure you burn Snorlax good." Arcanine grinned and did as it was told.

"Next, cast Sunny Day Arcanine."

Snorlax slept on as Arcanine powered up.

"Fire Blast!"

Snorlax awoke to the Fire Blast. It moaned in pain and bounced back, ready to pounce. Norman ordered it to Body Slam again. Arcanine once again looked as if it would be facing certain doom. Misty kept her eyes peeled to see what Gary would pull next. But, what happened next no one would have predicted.

"Arcanine dodge it quick!" Gary yelled frantically, knowing that Arcanine was a little exhausted from firing off 3 consecutive attacks.

The rest happened in slow motion. Snorlax took to the sky, roaring loudly. Arcanine didn't move and completely disregarded Gary's orders, raising its head proudly. But it wasn't out of disrespect. Arcanine turned to look at Gary square in the eye and they had some kind of unspoken conversation. Misty watched, transfixed, as Gary sighed to himself. Maybe his mannerisms had rubbed off onto his pokemon a little too much.

"Ok Arcanine you win. Overheat." Gary said.

Arcanine nodded its approval and started its attack with Snorlax closing in fast. Misty leapt out of her chair as she figured out exactly what was happening. Arcanine chose not to dodge so that it could use its most powerful attack and knock out Snorlax for sure. The only catch was that it would be a self sacrifice situation in which it would be wiped out by Snorlax's Body Slam. Suddenly she understood exactly why Gary was so adamantly against it. But, sure enough, the plan worked. Snorlax landed and Arcanine let of its attack. An explosion was caused and when the smoke cleared both pokemon were knocked out; it was a double KO.

"You're Arcanine is remarkable Gary. It's amount of loyalty is amazing." Norman commented.

"Yeah, Arcanine has been with me since the very beginning. Your Snorlax is something else, though." Gary replied.

"Hmm, it seems that we're both down to our last pokemon. If I could make a request, I'd love to battle that Aerodactyl of yours." Gary grinned.

"Very well, but don't hold back. I've heard about your legendary Slaking and I won't battle anything less."

Misty and May watched, silent, as the two gym leaders requested their opponents. It was kind of surreal, you don't just choose who you fight in a tournament. But, as Aerodactyl and Slaking exited their pokeballs it showed that Norman and Gary had done just that. The pokemon stared each other down and charged forward. They exchanged blows and started throwing fists, shooting beams and dodging all over the place. The two trainers spouting out commands at a rate that really didn't seem humanly possible.

"I haven't seen my dad this excited over a battle in a while." May said.

"Yeah, I feel bad for whoever is battling next. This is going to be a hard battle to top."

"Dad'll cream him." May said suddenly.

"Dream on Kid." Misty grinned.

Gary had complete faith and never once doubted her. It would be pretty crappy of her to start doubting now. She jumped out of her chair, still hidden in the shadows, and cheered him on. She saw him turn his head and he gave her a true smile. She blew him a kiss and blushed, feeling like a lovestruck schoolgirl. She saw him smirk and go back to his battle. She smiled and watched on even though she felt May's eyes boring holes into her back, probably analyzing their relationship. Whatever, who gave a shit what she thought?

"Aerodactyl stop messing around. Fire off a Hyper Beam!" Gary yelled.

"Slaking you use Hyper Beam as well!" Norman pointed forward.

The two pokemon stopped charging and fell back, gathering energy. The crowd watched on, mesmerized, as Aerodactyl and Slaking fired off their Hyper Beams simultaneously. Misty laughed as she saw Ash in the crowd, jaw dropped at the intensity of the battle. The beams met in the center of the arena, creating a mini-earthquake. Misty watched the ball grow and knew that this was it. Once it burst one pokemon would stand victorious while the other would be defeated. She felt the ground shake again and grabbed onto her chair just in time to avoid flying into the air as the ball burst.

"Tell me, Gary Oak, how is it that such a young trainer has gotten his hands on an Aerodactyl?" Norman asked curiously.

"I'm also a full fledged pokemon researcher on top of just being a gym leader. I was on location with a team of scientists who were able to resurrect fossils."

"Really? Now that's something. You're going places, I'm sure of it." Gary nodded.

"Thank you Norman. This has been one hell of a battle."

The spectators were all on the edge of their seats. Although they heard the exchange the smoke still hadn't cleared. Once it finally did the results were unbelievable: both pokemon were standing! Who was the victor?!

_Thump!_

"No way."

"Slaking is unable to battle, the winner is Gary Oak!"

Misty looked at May as the crowd went wild. The younger girl looked like she couldn't believe her eyes. Her father had lost; yet he still acted as if Gary were a friend! Misty then looked at Ash in the crowd. It was pretty obvious who he had wanted to win this battle. She sighed, they would talk sooner or later. As for now it was back to May. As Gary and Norman shook hands in the center of the arena Misty stood to look May square in the eye.

"Will you stand down and leave us be, May?" She asked sincerely.

"Yeah. Yeah I will." Misty smiled.

"Thank you."


	12. Chapter 12

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: Ok I did it. I'm pretty sure that this is, and will remain, my longest chapter in this story. This chapter is all battle. I wanted to add in Flannery and Brawly's battles as well; so, by my calculations, I'm going to plow through 5 battles this chapter. Wish me luck!

I think I'll dedicate this chapter to **Beware of Dark Lugia**, my first reviewer. You demanded battles and even predicted the outcomes correctly, hope this makes up for all of the nonbatle chapters!

Man, you know what I want to say.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 12

Take On Me

----------

The second round of fighting was promised to be intense. There had originally been 32 competitors and after Day 1 it had been reduced to 16; 6 of the 16 being members of the Elite Four, meaning that only 2 of the Elite Four's 8 competitors had been beat. The only reason for the defeats being that they were paired against each other: Phoebe taking out Sidney and Bruno eliminating Koga. There would 8 battles in Round 2 (16 competitors) and currently Brock and Misty were watching Battle 3 on a tv- two more Elite Four members fighting it out, it appeared as if Lorelei was quickly gaining the upper hand on Glacia though.

"Man this is nerve-wrecking." Misty said.

"No kidding. One of us will go on to face the winner if this match, either way it looks bleary." Brock agreed.

"Aw don't sweat it. Either of you guys are good enough to take out either of them." Gary said confidently.

Misty didn't know how he could stay so calm. The battle after Gary and Norman's had pitted Sabrina against Agatha. It should have been a monumental battle, except Agatha didn't agree. She beat Sabrina's two pokemon down with a mere Haunter. Gary knew that Agatha would be his next opponent, but Misty didn't see him nervous in the slightest. And now Glacia vs. Lorelei. Her match with Brock was up next, so they both knew that, if they continued on, their next opponent was Elite Four for sure. Even worse off, Misty surmised, was Flannery. Directly following her own match Flannery was going to duke it out with Phoebe.

"Walrein is unable to battle, the match goes to Lorelei!"

Misty and Brock looked at each other, knowing what was coming next. Eventually the cheers died down and the announcer cleared is throat.

"This brings us to Round 4. Misty of Cerulean vs. Brock of Pewter!"

It was funny. At first, she had been upset at the prospect of fighting Brock. But she eventually deducted that it'd be pointless to be upset over a simple battle. She wanted to win this thing; and she'd have to face her friends sooner or later so what's so bad about it being sooner?

"Misty don't expect me to go on easy on you, Rhyhorn go!"

When the fuck did Brock catch a Rhyhorn? Oh well, she had a couple surprises herself.

"Good, I'd be offended if you did. Come out Cloyster!"

Misty didn't know why, but she seemed to have a knack of getting put against rock trainers. But, on the plus side, she had been training with Brock for years now and was ready. But, it had been a few years since the two of them had gaged each others power; and it was all on the line now.

"Cloyster use Surf!" Misty figured that her best bet was her type advantage.

"Rhyhorn Dig quickly!" Brock countered.

Training with Brock was a double edged sword. By training with her he had learned how to defend against water types. She swore as the Surf disappeared and Rhyhorn was nowhere to be found. She didn't have to wait long, though, as Rhyhorn popped out of the ground and sent Cloyster flying.

"Cloyster fire off a Bubblebeam!" Misty cried frantically.

Cloyster did as it was commanded and managed to get out a Bubblebeam as it was flying through the air, hitting Rhyhorn head on. It landed with a crash, and it was pretty obvious that it was staying up on adrenaline alone.

"Cloyster use Rain Dance!"

"Rhyhorn Stone Edge, finish off Cloyster!"

Misty knew what was coming. Her Cloyster was too weak and Brock's Rhyhorn was too fast. Rain Dance was cast but immediately afterwards Rhyhorn smashed into Cloyster, knocking it out big time. Misty sighed and called it back. It was going to be a hard battle... but it was about to get even harder. The crowd got excited as Rhyhorn began to glow. Misty gasped, she knew exactly what was happening. It was evolving! Shit shit shit. What to do now? Rhydon's weren't exactly the weakest pokemon around.

"Rhydon." Rhydon grunted.

"Oh wow. Congrats Brock!" Misty yelled, still happy for her friend even though her opponent was massively strong.

"Thanks Mist!" He waved.

She knew just the pokemon to counter.

"Kingdra I choose you! Use Dragon's Dance now."

She knew that everyone probably expected her to send out Gyarados and it wouldn't have been a bad move. But, she wanted the world to know that she was not a one pokemon team. She trained them all equally and didn't want to become one of those gym's that had one super pokemon. Oddly enough, she had been inspired to acquire a Kingdra from Ash's battle with Clair years ago. But, after watching Gary's battle yesterday she honestly thought that her Kingdra was stronger than Clair's. Not that she would mention it aloud, an angry dragon mistress was something she didn't want.

"Rhydon use Megahorn, end it quickly!"

"Don't think so, Brock. Kingdra dodge it and fire off a Hydro Pump!"

Misty knew that she had this. Cloyster's Rain Dance boosted up water type moves and Kingdra's Dragon Dance boosted its attack and speed. There was no way that Rhydon would make it. And, as it fell to the ground, knocked out, she nodded. The match had just evened up.

"Man Misty, you've gotten really good in the last few years. But don't count me out yet, go Tyranitar!"

Why couldn't Brock just use something she recognized, like Onix? She remembered when he had first caught his Larvitar in the Johto region and now it was a Tyranitar. Man, it was something else. But, she wouldn't go down. She couldn't and she wouldn't.

"Charge!" Both trainers yelled.

"Kingdra Dragon Rush!"

"Tyranitar use Stone Edge!"

The two pokemon met and damage was dealt to both.

"Kingdra use Water Pulse!" Misty used a weaker attack, seeing how exhausted Kingdra was.

"Rock Tomb Tyranitar, trap it."

Weak. It was the only thing on Misty's mind at the minute. Her Water Pulse had hit and so had his Rock Tomb. It trapped them both in a small enclosure that was sealed off by rocks. Why did this seem so familiar? Stupid Roxanne and Brock and their stupid Rock Tombs. She knew it was over unless she did something quick, but what? Well, there was _that_ move. But was it worth the consequences? She'd never know unless she tried.

"Kingdra it's time for Outrage!"

She heard Brock swear. He probably thought that she'd never use a move that guaranteed confusion for her pokemon. But it was her only choice- each attack nearly the same strength of a Hyper Beam. Besides, if Tyranitar fainted she wouldn't have to worry about the confusion. She saw Brock try to come up with a counter, but he kind of dug his own grave. By trapping them in the Rock Tomb it blocked off any escape that Tyranitar could have had.

"Tyranitar return." Brock didn't want to see his Tyranitar finished off, sometimes it was better to just admit defeat.

"The winner is Misty!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Misty and Brock had shared a hug after their battle, creating an amazing photo op. But quickly cleared out after that and were now sitting backstage glued to the television screen as Flannery made her way to the front. She would be battling Phoebe of the Hoenn's Elite Four.

"Ninetails come out!" Flannery yelled.

"Sableye let's do this. You can make the first move, Flannery." Phoebe smiled.

"Very well, Ninetails use Fire Blast!"

"Avoid it Sableye and use Shadow Ball."

Although Phoebe looked young and happy the way she battled was something else. She was so calm and calculated, knowing exactly how much potential her pokemon possessed. Misty gripped Gary's hand tight as Ninetails was hit by the Shadow Ball. Phoebe quickly followed up and by the time Sableye had landed back on the ground Ninetails had been slammed by a Confuse Ray.

"No! Ninetails snap out of it!" Flannery tried calling to her pokemon.

"Sableye Shadow Punch!"

Its fist slammed into Ninetails and sent it flying. Misty saw Flannery looking distressed through the television screen and felt her pain: Phoebe was like a force of nature. Were all Elite Four like this? Misty gulped, she would be facing Lorelei later in the day. Would her results be similar? Talk about rattling. But, if she were this rattled by just watching she couldn't imagine what her friend would be feeling at the minute.

"It's not over! Torkoal we can do it!" Flannery sent her second pokeball forward.

"Dark Pulse!" Phoebe yelled.

"Heat Wave!" Flannery countered.

Both pokemon sent out their attacks and the pulse and wave met in a crash that left both pokemon injured.

"Flamethrower." Flannery commanded, starting to gain momentum.

The fire attack flew towards Sableye. Flannery looked pumped, happy that things were finally going her way. But, Misty's eyes narrowed in suspicion, something wasn't right. Phoebe didn't order Sableye to move, dodge or counterattack in any way. It was as if she wanted to be hit. It just didn't seem normal; she looked over to Gary, about to ask his opinion, and saw him shaking his head with a grin on his face. He knew something.

"What's up?" She asked him.

"Flannery's toast." He shrugged.

"What do you mean? Sableye's gonna get blasted for sure!" Brawly demanded.

"You'll see." He turned his attention back to the screen.

Sableye was blasted as expected. Flannery grinned and Torkoal went in, thinking victory was at its fingertips. It was shocked to see Sableye staring at it, not that harmed at all. Phoebe grinned the same grin that Gary had earlier. It seemed as if she would soon see what exactly it was that they understood and she did not. She kept her eyes glued to the screen, watching carefully. Who knows, this could be a learning experience.

"Payback." Phoebe whispered, just loud enough for Flannery to hear.

She gasped as Sableye charged into Torkoal full speed. Even before it hit she knew that Torkoal was finished. Flannery was out.

"Impressive. She used two types of fighting through the same pokemon." Gary murmured.

"Hmm?" Misty asked him.

"Well, when she was fighting Ninetails she used strictly ghost type moves; but in the match against Torkoal it was strictly dark type moves. It's amazing that she was able to use both of them so well."

The announcer declared Phoebe the winner and the crowds went wild. It was an impressive battle, objectively, considering Phoebe used only one pokemon and still wiped out Flannery. A few minutes later Flannery entered the backstage with a sheepish smile on her face On the plus side, she didn't seem too upset and that was definitely a good thing.

"Well, I guess I struck out, huh?" Flannery laughed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day wore on and more battles were fought. Misty couldn't help but admire the way the tournament was spanned over three days. There was 32 competitors and the entire Round 1 was done in Day1, totaling 16 battles. Day 2 would cover Rounds 2 and 3, bringing it down to 4 semifinalists by the end of tonight (12 battles total). Then in Day 3 the battles would continue until one trainer stood supreme (7 battles total). At the moment she was sitting ringside for Brawly's match- Battle 7- and calculated that there would be 1 more match before it was brought down to the 4 quarter final matches.

"Hitmontop, use Drain Punch!" Brawly commanded.

Brawly's Hitmontop had been battling it out with Pryce's Sneasel for the last 10 minutes or so. She jumped around in the background, letting her friend know that she was behind him all the way. In truth, she was kind of shocked that he had asked her and not Flannery to accompany him. After all, they had only met over the past week. But, whatever the case, she agreed and was cheering him on with her entire being.

"Go Brawly! Kick his ass!" She yelled.

"Counter with Ice Punch Sneasel!" Pryce yelled.

It seemed that the two were evenly matched. The two attacks nullified and canceled each other out. Except that Brawly's attack was more than just a punch. Although the kick was taken out it still managed to suck in some health for Hitmontop. But, even with the extra health, Hitmontop was starting to run out of fuel. The plus side was that Sneasel was just as worn out. Pryce laughed heartily and, for a moment, it seemed as if Brawly were fighting Wattson and not Pryce.

"Oh, what an amazing battle! It's been far too long since I've been this challenged! Ice Beam Sneasel, don't miss!"

"Hitmontop brace yourself with Calm Mind!"

It was an interesting tactic. By raising its special attack and defense it would nullify the Ice Beam. It was something that Misty would never attempt at, because it was a game of chance- certain doom if it didn't go into effect fast enough- but then again, if Hitmontop dodged and was hit that was certain doom as well. And apparently Brawly didn't think that Hitmontop was quick enough to dodge a Sneasel. She watched as Hitmontop was hit by the Ice Beam, waiting to see if it would faint or not.

"And Hitmontop is still standing folks! Calm Mind worked in the nick of time!" The announcer called out.

Misty heaved a sigh of relief as the crowd went wild. That was the thing with the crowd: they were easily excited. She figured that most of the spectators in the crowd were teenage trainers who one day dreamt of fighting in this arena theirselves one day. She spotted Ash in his front row seat, cheering so madly he didn't even notice her; and as she squinted her eyes she was able to make out a few different people she had met during her travels, all excited about these battles. She looked back just in time to see Pryce make a full 360 and switch elements.

"Ok Sneasel, let's try Faint Attack!"

A dark attack. Misty racked her brain for Faint Attack. Bingo! You draw the pokemon close to you then attack suddenly. She saw Sneasel coming close to Hitmontop and thought to warn Brawly except it was against the rules. Besides, he was a smart guy; he could take care of himself.

"Mistake! Hitmontop Close Combat now!"

It was too late for Sneasel. It had already brought itself close in preparation for Faint Attack and wasn't able to escape in time. Hitmontop pounded on Sneasel relentlessly until its eyes turned into swirly KO eyes.

"Arg. Sneasel return, go Piloswine! Use Sheer Cold." The huge ice pig roared as it cast its spell.

"Hitmontop it only has a 30 chance of hitting. Get in there and use Focus Blast!" Brawly commanded.

Piloswine's were known for their great defense. And, in that moment, it proved to be more than just a myth. Sheer Cold didn't hit but Hitmontop did. Instead of fainting, like most pokemon would after being hit full blast by a pumped up Focus Blast, Piloswine stood practically unmoved. In true dejavu Pryce demanded a repeat of the Sheer Cold attack.

"Hyper Beam now!" Brawly called out.

It looked as if Sheer Cold wanted to work this time as the surrounding turned to ice. Hitmontop started its Hyper Beam attack but never got to finish. It fainted on the spot, but a tiny bit of Hyper Beam managed to leak out and hit Piloswine who, of course, remained unmoved.

"Hariyama let's finish this!" Brawly brought out his signature pokemon.

"Piloswine Ice Beam!" Pryce yelled.

Misty gasped, shocked that Pryce was going on the offensive again. But, it didn't seem to matter to Brawly who just grinned.

"Hariyama jump! Body Slam it and end this!"

Pryce paled. Misty watched him try to stop the Ice Beam attack but it was too late. Piloswine shot it out and Hariyama took to the air, an amazing feat in itself, and aimed straight at Piloswine. Poor Piloswine was too busy with Ice Beam that it didn't even notice Hariyama's descent. Hariyama landed with a crash. Piloswine may have been able to hold off against some strong attacks, but it wasn't immortal. Pryce hung his head as he called back Piloswine, Brawly won!

"Brawly moves on to the quarter finals!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"We'll be watching from the front row so don't let us down!"

Misty, Gary and Brawly waved goodbye to Brock and Flannery as they made their way out of the backstage area. The competition was dwindling and only 8 remained. If she had been worried about the Elite Four competitors before it was magnified tenfold now. Only 3 Gym Leaders had made it to the quarter finals and it was no mystery who they were.

"Man, I've never managed to beat Bruno. Not in all of the years I trained under him, not once." Brawly sighed.

"You're not alone. I've looked up to Lorelei since I was a kid, I can't imagine actually fighting her." Misty sighed.

Misty and Brawly fell against each other, back to back, as Gary just shook his head, honestly!

"Well you'll lose for sure if you keep acting like this. Besides, there are more important things!" Misty rolled her eyes at his dramatics.

"Like?" Gary smirked.

"That May chick. She has one of my posters, probably right next to her head where she can kiss me before she goes to bed. I want to know which one she has. The one where I'm posing like this? Or maybe the one where I'm topless? Oh! It has to be the one where I'm in that hat!"

"This has been on your mind all day, huh?" Misty asked, unamused.

"Naturally. I need to know which face looks best." Brawly hung his head and mumbled something that only Misty could hear.

"You sure this is what you want, Cutie?" She giggled and leapt at Gary; he caught her bridal style.

"Positive." She smiled.

"Man Red, have you been putting on the pounds? I'm dying here!" Gary teased and put her down.

"Still positive." She said before Brawly could ask again.

She sighed and brushed the funny moment aside. The losers had left and the final 8 were left backstage. Round 1 was going to put Gary against Agatha and, honestly, Misty was sure glad it wasn't her- Agatha had YEARS of experience! In Round 2 she would face off against her idol Lorelei. Round 3 had Phoebe of Hoenn vs. Will of Johto, that would definitely be interesting. Then, to close out the quarter finals, Brawly was taking on his mentor, Bruno. Whoo!

"Can we have the Top 8 center stage?!" The announcer called.

Misty looked up and, along with the other competitors, made her way to the center of the arena. It was a huge array of flashes, cameras going off in all directions. It quickly became obvious who were comfortable in the spotlight and who... well, wasn't. Gary, as usual, looked charming as ever and was easily flirting with the cameras from all angles. She, on the other hand, preferred to leave the posing to her sisters and could do nothing more than flash an occasional awkward smile. That's ok, celebrities weren't made overnight. And, whether she knew it or not yet, making it this far put her on the radar and she was plowing through to celebritydom.

Misty Waterflower had arrived.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As an added bonus to making it this far they got to sit on the sidelines of the arena for all of the matches. Misty bounced excitedly next to Brawly as Gary and Agatha walked to their respective sides. The quarter finals were beginning with a bang. She saw Professor Oak and Tracy sitting next to her sisters, WAIT! Was that Lily and Tracy holding hands!? She'd have to ask about that one later. She waved happily to them and refocused her attention to the match at hand.

"I have to say, Gary Oak, that I'm shocked to be facing you. That wimp of a grandpa of yours must not have rubbed off on you too much." Agatha nodded.

"With all due respect, Ma'am, I am not only 100 Oak, but I'm definitely my grandfather's grandson. It's all in the bone structure, see?" He posed and Misty facefaulted.

"Brat. So you think you're hot shit, prove it." Agatha's demeanor changed, ready for battle.

"Gladly."

With the way Gary's entire demeanor changed Misty would swear that he hadn't even taken his earlier battles seriously. All jokes were put on hold and an intense look came into his eyes. Misty knew that Agatha and Professor Oak had some kind of history together, maybe that had something to do with it? It was a possibility. But then again, maybe Gary knew that it was time to get serious; Agatha was definitely not an opponent to take lightly.

"Umbreon go!" Gary sent his pokeball forward.

"Mismagius, come out!" Agatha yelled.

Wow. It was all Misty thought. Mismagius was an extremely new breed that was just discovered within the last couple of weeks. She sure didn't expect to run into one here, that was for sure.

"Mismagius Shadow Sneak!"

"Umbreon dodge and use Dark Pulse!"

"Avoid it with Ominous Wind!"

"Assurance Umbreon!"

They were spouting off commands so fast you had to move your head back and forth between the two trying to follow along. It was something else and so were the pokemon. If the speed of the trainers' minds were amazing then the speed of which the pokemon were executing these attacks was even better! It was like watching two ninjas fighting: the pokemon were almost teleporting from place to place and taking precision aim with every shot while still keeping in time and maintaining the speed. By the end of the first string of attacks both pokemon had taken damage, at the moment Umbreon had a slight upper hand due to its type advantage, but tides could switch very quickly.

"Toxic now Mismagius!"

"Don't worry about dodging Umbreon; use Thief and make sure you snag that item!" Agatha laughed.

"Let them take the berry, Mismagius. Good, now slam it with a Shadow Ball!"

Umbreon was hit dead on. It slammed into the ground and Agatha smirked. Gary quickly commanded it to use Moonlight and Umbreon restored health. Misty wondered what the whole point was. Umbreon had been attacked and was now poisoned to boot!

"Ah, so Umbreon has Synchronize." Agatha said simply.

"Afraid so. Umbreon use that Chesto Berry. It was a lucky guess, actually, that brought me to use Thief. I just assumed that you would have all of your pokemon holding an antidote item because you're a poison mistress."

"Well played Gary Oak-" Agatha started.

Misty watched and quickly caught on to what was happening. When Umbreon was hit by Toxic it was instantly poisoned, but due to its Synchronize ability it caused Mismagius to also become poisoned. Gary knew this would happen, and that's why he had Umbreon go after Mismagius' item with so much fervor. And, as the toxin worked its way through Mismagius, weakening it, it was obvious exactly which trainer took the real damage.

"-But it will take more than that to take me down. Mismagius use Destiny Bond before its too late."

"Umbreon no!" Gary cried out.

Soon after, Mismagius fainted. It was a good and bad thing as the Destiny Bond also caused Umbreon to faint as well. Definitely a bittersweet faint.

"Gengar it's time to play!" Agatha called out.

"This will be fun. Shield your eyes Agatha, the press is about to go wild. Go Lucario!"

For the second time in this tournament Gary brought out a pokemon that was supposed to be "unattainable." True to his prediction, the flashes started immediately after, everyone wanting to snap the shot of the pokemon that was supposed to be extinct. Misty watched Gary share a look with Agatha over the flashes. This match was going to end swiftly.

"Lucario Aura Sphere!" Gary yelled.

"Gengar Shadow Punch!" Agatha fired back.

Both attacks were unavoidable, also meaning that both attacks hit dead on. Misty kept watching them trade blows and noticed that neither seemed to be healing their pokemon. It really was turning out to be a fight to the faint.

"Gengar use Sludge Bomb!"

"Lucario ignore it, Metal Sound now!"

The worst sound Misty had ever heard went through her ears. It was like nails on a chalkboard, only magnified times ten. She gasped and covered her ears, taking refuge in her knees and temporarily putting the match on hold. When she brought her head back up she just shook her head. Gary and Agatha both stood, unfazed, still focused on their battle. It was something else. And to think, she would have to top this. Yikes!

"C'mon Gary! You can do it!" She stood up and yelled.

She saw him look her way and flash her the thumbs up.

"All right Lucario, Blaze Kick while Gengar's special defense is down!"

"Double Team Gengar, it's not over yet!"

Agatha's Gengar was something else. Misty knew that it was the old woman's signature pokemon and would be strong, but damn! She had thought that Umbreon's clones had been impressive during the battle with Tate and Liza, but this was surreal. There was a mild flash and then, next thing she knew, there was 20 Gengars all over the battlefield. They were all gathering energy, ready to fire off a super charge powered attack. Lucario was toast.

"This has been impressive, Gary Oak; I never expected you to present such a challenge; but your time is up! Gengars Shadow Ball full power!" Agatha yelled.

"I don't think so, Agatha! Lucario Dig now!"

Misty knew that she wasn't alone as she blinked, confused. The whole crowd seemed lost with this one. It was mighty impressive that Lucario managed to dodge in time, there was no doubt there. But, it almost seemed like he was pulling at strings, hoping that with the extra time he would have a breakthrough. Dig wouldn't affect Gengar and 20 enemies were just waiting for Lucario to resurface so that they could finish it for good.

"What are you doing Oak? It's over." Agatha said as Gary's eyebrows rose, apparently he was shocked.

"Hmm, you really haven't figured me out? I'm not surprised that the crowd doesn't get it, but you?" Agatha glared.

"What are you talking about?"

"Just watch. Lucario, Aura Sphere full power!"

The crowd watched, shocked, as a huge ball of energy burst from the ground and flew into one of the hidden Gengars. Immediately all of the Gengars disappeared and one remained, swirly eyed and completely knocked out. What the hell happened!?

"Lucario has the ability to sense auras. It was able to detect the real Gengar without even trying. I just needed it to get somewhere where it wouldn't be in harm's way." Gary explained.

"I'll be damned Brat. You got me." Agatha grinned.

"Um, Gary Oak continues on!" The announcer yelled, not quite believing it.

No way. Misty saw it with her own eyes and still didn't quite believe it. Gary had beaten Agatha, oldest member of the Elite Four! As he ran over and hugged her she couldn't help but keep thinking that her match was only minutes away. Would she be able to fare as well?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Misty knew that this wasn't the time to be nervous. She was staring straight into Lorelei's eyes as their match was just about to begin. But, it was happening. She suddenly wished that she had Gary's confidence, Flannery's nonchalance, or even Ash's wholehearted dumb luck! Anything to keep her mind from worrying that she wouldn't be able to battle at the best of her abilities. Fighting against her idol sure wasn't helping things either.

"Hey, I've met you before haven't I?" Lorelei asked in her dreamy voice.

"Wow you remember! I'm actually a huge fan of yours." Misty said excitedly, temporarily forgetting that this was her opponent.

"That's right, the Orange Islands. You're a water trainer right?"

"Yeah, I run the Cerulean City gym."

"Interesting. I'm sure you know that many ice pokemon are also water types. It's essential to being a great trainer to know how to work more than one element-"

That's the second time she had heard that today.

"- I'll demonstrate that today by using water types. Empoleon I choose you!"

"Go Kingdra, Octazooka!" Misty started the battle.

Her mighty Kingdra came out, ready to start the battle. Its Octazooka hit its mark, splatting Empoleon and lowering its accuracy. Misty didn't worry about getting cocky, she knew that there was still a lot of battle left to be fought. Seeing the look in Lorelei's eyes only hardened her resolve. She was not the little girl who was starstruck. Well, maybe a little.

"Hydro Pump Empoleon." Lorelei commanded.

And what was up with that Empoleon? It was probably something about being one of the Elite Four, but it was just amazing how they get the privilege of raising these pokemon that the world are just first learning about. The super penguin was impressive, there was no way Misty could deny it. In fact, she wouldn't mind training one of her own. But, there would be more time for that later; Lorelei meant business!

"Freeze it Kingdra, Blizzard!"

The burst of water was frozen and, for a second, Empoleon looked confused. It was all Misty needed.

"Hyper Beam now!" Misty yelled.

As the beam shattered the ice and sped towards Empoleon Misty heard Lorelei giggle.

"C'mon now, Misty, I'm not in the Elite Four for nothing. Dodge it Empoleon, Aerial Ace!"

Misty slapped her head as Empoleon took to the air. Of course the Elite Four could dodge a Hyper Beam! It was one of the most commonly used attacks! She tried telling Kingdra to defend itself but forgot that Kingdra would be rendered immobile for a whole turn. Aerial ace was a counterattack, so on top of being hit by that Kingdra would have to endure a whole other attack before it would be able to move again. She looked away as Aerial Ace hit Kingdra head on.

"Empoleon this is over. Use Drill Peck!"

Kingdra stood, helpless, as Empoleon charged forward. Meh, Empoleon Napoleon what's the difference? But as she stood there Misty realized that this was not ok. Kingdra was a fucking vegetable. It had no way of dodging and was stuck watching as its doom approached in the form of a blue penguin. Misty called it back to its ball right as Empoleon slammed into the ground.

"Great job Kingdra. It's time, go Gyarados!"

It was time for revenge. Gyarados came out in a roaring rage of anger, ready to get back at the pokemon that hurt its friend. Misty smirked, traveling with Ash had taught her a little bit of come from behind battles- this was not over!

"A Gyarados, huh? No matter, Surf Empoleon!"

As Empoleon summoned a huge wave a sudden idea hit Misty.

"Dive into the water Gyarados!"

Gyarados did as it was told.

"I'll show you another element. Thunder now!" Misty yelled.

The entire wave became electro shocked. Gyarados, being the caster, had some sort of immunity to the blast whereas Empoleon was hit full force. It screamed in agony until the water eventually evaporated into nothingness, but by then Empoleon was well knocked out. Misty did an internal victory dance, one down and one to go! Maybe Gary was right. Maybe all she needed was to be confident in herself and her pokemon. She could win and she would.

"Lapras go." Lorelei said, no longer in dreamy mode.

"Aqua Tail Gyarados!" Misty didn't want to let Lapras have the first move.

"Are you ok, Lapras? Use Perish Song!"

Shit shit shit. Perish Song was an older move that really wasn't used much anymore and Misty sure hadn't been expecting it. The whole point of Perish Song was that any pokemon who hear it are doomed to faint in 3 turns. Misty glared, that was a cheap trick. Unfortunately, it was an effective cheap trick and now Misty was racking her brain for a breakthrough to defeat Lapras before Gyarados would faint. Shit shit shit.

"Mist Lapras, just hold out for 3 turns!" Lorelei called.

"Don't let that Mist get in your way! Track it down with Dragon Pulse!" Misty fired back.

A thick mist hid Lapras from view. Gyarados roared and used the vibrations of the pulse to track it down. Lapras cried out when it got hit and Gyarados charged, knowing it was working on bought time.

"Hydro Pump at full blast Gyarados!" Lapras screamed as it was hit again, the mist wasn't really doing its job.

"Aqua Ring Lapras, heal yourself!"

"I don't think so! Follow that Hydro Pump Gyarados, charge! Giga Impact!" Misty pointed at Lapras and Gyarados roared.

Misty hoped that a lucky photographer got this shot because it was a moment she wanted to remember. Lapras was being hit by a jet of water and directly behind the jet was Gyarados in Giga Impact mode. It was as if time stopped in that moment. Misty looked at the crowd and saw her sisters jumping out of their seats, she saw Brock and Flannery cheering from the sidelines, Ash yelling for all he was worth and putting their feud on hold to support one of his best friends, and then she saw Gary. He just gave her a smirk and a wink, she couldn't have asked for more.

"And Gyarados slams into Lapras at full force!" The announcer recapped.

A crater was created where Lapras was once standing. Gyarados was standing over it with a proud look on its face. Misty started running over to congratulate it when Gyarados got a confused look on its face and, right before Misty's eyes, dropped to the ground. Her eyes widened and she sprinted the rest of the way. A look into the crater confirmed her suspicions: a tiny stream of water was circling Lapras, Aqua Ring had successfully kept Lapras from fainting. Barely, Misty noted, as Lapras had its eyes closed and wasn't moving. Unfortunately, hanging on by a thinning thread still beat fainted and as the announcer declared Lorelei the winner only one thing was going through her mind.

She had been eliminated.


	13. Chapter 13

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: I feel like such a horrid person! I've has this chapter done since Friday and, for some reason, had thought that I had uploaded it. But I guess I didn't; and now I'm already mostly done with the NEXT chapter! I guess that could be considered a good thing though. I'll add it in the next few days (probably around Halloweenish).

Ok, I got a bunch of really awesome reviews for the last chapter. First off I'd like to welcome **ltlbabeangel, HeartAngel, moonlightdream17 **and** SwordPrincess**! It's nice to see some new faces (but **Tomoyo Kinomoto **and **Beware of Dark Lugia** know I love them through and through) and get some insights. **SwordPrincess**, I think you've totally went into my mind and sucked my thoughts. It's so cool to think that other people in this world think like me! Also, I tried to make the battles somewhat interesting because most battles make me want to sleep myself, eheh.

It's been brought to my attention from a reviewer that goes as that my Ash portrayal might seem a tad "retardish." I don't mean to make any Ash fans mad, it's just how I believe he'd act if Gary and Misty hooked up. In my honest opnion, it seems that Ash is the center of the universe and everything seems to be about him. So, naturally, he'd make this issue into something personal. Oh! And by the way, , you didn't offend me at all! I completely appreciate your honesty. BUT. Just a heads up to EVERYONE, there will be some Ash drama this chapter that is probably gonna make a few eyebrows raise. The things that'll happen in this chapter are something that I think _could_ happen. Just try to remember that they're not a group of 10 year olds, ok?

ONE MORE THING! I've started a side project (Time To Shine will be over pretty soon, you know) and am looking for a mature beta reader. I say mature because it's something that kids probably shouldn't be reading. It's another egoshippy fic, this one set in the Wild West! I've gotten a few chapters hammered out, but I'm not really sure if it's come into its own yet. So, if interested, please let me know ok?

This chapter will have ABSOLUTELY NO BATTLES. Honestly, after last chapter, I don't want to do any more. Hahahaha. But I will. Next chapter. Yup.

We're in the final stretch! Only 2 chapters (and an epilogue) left after this so get your reviews in now!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 13

Fairytale Confusion

----------

Misty sighed and put her head on the table. She had waken up in a good mood and got ready without anyone getting in the way. Flannery called her and told her to come down for coffee before the last matches. She was sitting in the coffee shop with her usual group of buddies. Brock was due to arrive soon, but it wasn't really important at the moment, for right now there was an unsolved mystery at hand. Well, kind of unsolved.

"C'mon Gary, tell me what this thing does!" Misty tried giving a cute look.

"Nah, puppy eyes don't work on me. You have to figure this one out on your own."

"Maybe it's a level up for Vaporeon!" Flannery suggested.

"She already tried everything with Vaporeon, remember?" Brawly sighed.

During Brawly's match with Bruno yesterday she had gotten a chance to talk with Lorelei. It was an interesting conversation and resulted in her being given this rock that she now held in her hand. It wasn't anything special, it looked like a rock fragment with a little bit of frost on it. And, while she appreciated the gift, she had no idea what to do with the thing!

_She sat in her chair next to Gary and together they cheered Brawly on. She wasn't pouting over her earlier loss, there was just too much excitement going on to have time to be sad! She felt a tapping on her shoulder and turned to see Lorelei with a dreamy smile on her face. Apparently she resorted back to "Dreamy Lorelei" once she was finished battling. And although she had been beaten by this woman it didn't change the fact that she was still her idol and this was just so damn cool!_

_"You know, if it weren't for Perish Song you would have won for sure. I feel bittersweet about the win and want to make it up." Lorelei jammed something into her hand._

_"What's this?" Misty asked._

_It was a rock. A shard of rock; as if someone were sculpting something and this was one of the pieces that was simply chiseled away. Was Lorelei a little bit more off the deep end then she had originally thought? Who knows? But, Lorelei did seem to know what she was doing so it probably was something of interest. That, and she noticed that Gary was looking at the rock intently. Maybe if she was lucky he could tell her what was so great about the rock._

_"I saw you battle the other day, you have a Vaporeon correct?" Misty nodded._

_"Did you raise it from an Eevee or as a Vaporeon?"_

_"Funny story with that one. My sisters were dating the Eevee Brothers. In order to impress them Daisy went on this big breeding kick and bred a whole bunch of Eevees. One of them in particular liked to follow me around and one day I was moving my stuff around and a Water Stone fell down next to it. Next thing I knew, I had a Vaporeon of my own!"_

_"I see. That's fascinating. Well, you should have that item nearby the next time Vaporeon plays with its brothers and sisters." Lorelei said._

_"Um, ok, but why?"_

_"Water pokemon and ice pokemon go hand in hand. Their moves are similar and they can usually use both elements interchangeably. After all, ice is nothing more than frozen water."_

_"Thanks for the lesson. But what is this thing?" Misty held up the rock._

_"That is a rock fragment." Lorelei said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. _

_Lorelei nodded to her then and got up to leave. Before Misty could ask her more about the rock Lorelei was gone. A rock fragment. Well no shit it was a rock fragment! She just didn't know why the hell it was so important! Rrrrr. Well, it was pointless to think about it now. She could just experiment with Vaporeon later and if that didn't work it sure helped to have a smart pokemon researcher as a loverboy. But, enough about the rock, it was time to refocus on Brawly's battle!_

Psh, pokemon researcher loverboy, yeah right! When she had asked Gary about the rock he laughed and told her that he knew exactly what it was and no, he wouldn't tell her. That rejection eventually led to the think tank with Brawly and Flannery that she was currently a part of. But, unfortunately, they weren't getting very far. What did Vaporeon have to do with a random rock fragment? And why would Lorelei give it to her? She knew there was an obvious answer, but it just wasn't making any sense.

"Maybe it has to do with all of the Eeveelutions, not just Vaporeon." Brawly wondered aloud.

"Yeah! Hey, maybe it's a litterbox rock! You know, a designated rock so that the Eevees will know where to go." Flannery suggested.

"That would sure be handy. There's still a couple of Eevees that Daisy left behind that just do their business wherever they damn well please, it's a pain to clean up."

Gary choked on his coffee he was laughing so hard.

"Not even close." Misty rolled her eyes.

"Well, who needs your help anyways. We'll figure it out on our own right Flannery?" Misty turned to her friend.

Flannery didn't answer and instead glared somewhere behind her. Misty, who's back was facing the entrance, had no idea who it was that had Flannery so pissed. But, she knew that she was sure happy it wasn't her. What piqued her curiosity was the fact that Brawly also seemed to be glaring in the same direction. Someone had managed to piss off BOTH of them?! She noticed that Gary had acknowledged their friends' odd behavior and he then looked over his shoulder. He turned back around and Misty saw him roll his eyes in annoyance. She was just about to turn for herself when she heard Flannery's voice.

"Goober alert."

Misty looked up as Ash cleared his throat, obviously nervous and possibly intimidated. She had to hand it to him, though, it took balls to waltz right up to a table full of glaring gym leaders and still have the courage to talk. His pokemon was a whole different story, Misty realized, as Pikachu leapt in her arms, happy to finally get a chance to say hello. Ash hadn't brought it along during their previous encounters.

"What do you want, Ash?" She asked simply.

"To talk."

She saw his defeated eyes and realized that he probably meant what he said. Maybe he finally saw the truth? Who knows? But one thing she did know was that she had been waiting for this moment a damn long time!

"Fine."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After she promised to be back in time for the match 10 times her friends finally let her go. She was thankful that Gary was such a confident bastard, most guys would be a little on edge if they were in his position. As she kissed his cheek on her way out she knew exactly what he would have said if she asked what he had been feeling:

"You're free to leave me, but I know you'll be back."

She let Ash lead her to his room. It was really the only place she could go and be sure that they'd actually get privacy. Ever since Gary's post Clair victory make out in the center of the arena she had become the most interesting thing around. She had been declining interviewers and dodging photographers. After all, Gary Oak was a celebrity and had grown up in the media spotlight. He had some sort of "Kanto's Darling" complex about him; and had been ranked on the Top 10 Men countdowns since the moment he hit puberty. Of course the world wanted to know about the woman who had wrangled him in!

Ash's room was shared between himself, Brock and May. Max was in Norman's room. She was amazed to find that it wasn't a total mess. It was a one bedroom suite originally intended for Brock's whole family. She saw that there was a television in the living room and a bed close to it. Due to the amount of girlish products Misty could only assume that it was May's. There was another bed in the living room, this one closer to the kitchen- Brock's. Ash led her through all that and opened a door that led to what Misty could only assume was Ash's room.

It was obviously meant for Flint and Lola. The queen sized bed was much too big for Ash alone. There was also his own personal bathroom and closet. Brock had said something about Ash hiding in his room because he'd been so depressed lately; as she looked around she realized that it wouldn't be that hard for him to post in here at all. Hell, there wasn't even a window! Pikachu started pacing restlessly and Ash gave his friend a pat on the head before speaking. Seems they were as close as ever Misty thought as she kicked off her shoes and sat on the bed.

"Hey Pikachu you don't have to stay with us. May's practicing for her next contest, why don't you go join her?" Ash suggested.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu agreed and happily left the two of them alone in the suite.

The two teens looked at each other.

"May told me what happened." He said in a quiet voice.

"I'd be surprised if she didn't." Ash raised an eyebrow.

"What's with the tone?"

Interesting thing to ask. Misty scrunched her eyebrows, trying to come up with a way to word her thoughts without being rude. May May May, now why would she have a tone about May?

"You know that May has it bad for you right?" She asked, deciding to completely ignore his question.

"You should know better than anyone that I never really take the time to consider the feelings of the girls I travel with." He shrugged.

"That's true. I just don't want her to suffer like I did." He looked into her eyes.

"I love you Misty."

She didn't bother getting mad at him. If he wanted to stick to it then fine. The few minutes she had spent in the dimly lit room were draining her energy. But, it seemed that they were getting somewhere for once and it was more important that anything else at the moment. Even the match. She sighed and sent him an exhausted smile. It seems that this whole situation had been stressing her out more than she had originally realized.

"I'm sorry that I can't say it back to you Ash. You'll always be in my heart, but not like that anymore."

"Are you in love with him?" Ash asked intently.

"Maybe. I'm not sure, but I don't think I am. I can see it happening, though-"

She sighed, knowing that he at least deserved an explanation.

"-Listen Ash. I didn't plan on it. I was just getting over you and, contrary to what I said, I wasn't expecting to jump into a new relationship. It just happened. We talked and got to know each other first, we just clicked."

It was awkward to talk to Ash about this. She wasn't enjoying it and she knew that Ash wasn't enjoying hearing it. But, at the same time, it had to be out in the open. She just kept talking, eventually morphing into nervous babbling. He was looking at her with a hurt, yet tender and sincere, look and she was finding it hard to focus on what she was saying.

"Like I said earlier, I didn't really mean to swap spit with you rival and... WILL YOU STOP GIVING ME THAT LOOK!" She eventually snapped.

"What look?" Ash asked, confused.

"... Nevermind." She mumbled.

"Ok, but Misty, I don't want to fight anymore. But, do you even realize how I felt? You didn't even call me to tell me yourself. I had to find out through the gossip columns in the newspaper. And with May buying all those chick magazines it was just too much. The tournament was the only story that anyone cared about, and it was everywhere! And, naturally, with all of the gym leaders being in one confined space its no wonder that everyone wanted to know who was hooking up."

"Ash I-" He cut her off.

"I just never thought it would be you."

She kept silent and stared at her hands. She really hadn't thought about the articles written about her. She was too busy having fun that she had never bothered turning on the tv or picking up a magazine. It made her heart drop when she thought about how Ash had probably thought it was all bullshit. How he had faith in her to at least tell him herself if anything was true; but then day by day more and more articles were printed. It was no wonder that he had been so pissed when she first saw him outside her door. She was brought out of her reverie by Ash's bitter laughter.

"I actually thought it was Brawly. You see, with no concrete evidence it was hard to pin you to just one man. But, I had met Brawly and knew how much he loved the water and just assumed that, if anyone, it was him that you'd be with. When I saw all the Gary stories I laughed and said that there was no way in heaven or hell that he'd ever get you."

He fixed her with another one of his looks and she felt her legs getting wobbly. It was no different than the wobbly leg syndrome that Brawly was able to conjure and Misty smiled to herself. Even if she was over him, her body could still physically be attracted. It's human nature, after all. And with Ash acting as mature as he was she knew that, had it been a year ago, she would be putty in his hands. It was a shame that Ash was in no hurry to grow up, he really could make something of himself, she thought.

"I'm sorry that it was Gary, Ash."

Sorry? She was sorry? She couldn't believe that she had actually said it. What did she have to be sorry for, because she certainly doesn't regret her decision. It was just that as she saw his sad, almost teary, look she knew that she wanted to do anything in her power to make it all better and have him smile at her again. And to think, he didn't even realize he was doi... wait. No, no way! That couldn't be right! She tried to put her thoughts into the back of her mind, but as she watched his sad look turn into a sexy half grin she couldn't help but wonder if he knew exactly what he was doing.

"I didn't mean to fight with you." She continued.

Damn her traitorous mouth! It was as if it were speaking on its own accord while she was trying to catch up with it. And yet, she couldn't keep her eyes off of Ash's face as it changed again. This time into a look of warmth and forgiveness. Maybe Flannery and Daisy were wrong about him. Maybe he wasn't a goober with no brains; maybe he was actually a master seducer who knew exactly how to conjure certain feelings. But then again, there was always just the possibility that he knew her well enough to just know how to get every kind of reaction from her.

"I just want everything to go back to the way it was." She finished.

That wasn't right either. She didn't want to be in an unrequited love and drowning in her own self pity. But then again, it actually wasn't an unrequited love as she had learned. What would have happened if Ash had only told her the truth about how he felt? She blushed, would she have done those _things_ with Ash instead of Gary? And why did that scenario bring a tingling sensation to her stomach instead of disgust, like she would have assumed? He scooted closer to her, bringing his lips close to her ear.

"But you said that you don't love me anymore. And I still love you with all my heart, Misty. Maybe we just need a new beginning?" He whispered.

Damn, when he was only in jeans and his undershirt he really looked his age. He had taken off his hat, shoes and coat/shirt thing. She had finally figured out what he was trying to do, but it didn't seem like so much of a problem anymore. Maybe it was the barely lit room or maybe it was that she had fallen for it so easily, for all she knew she really was still in love with Ash Ketchum and all of her instincts were wrong. All she knew was that she felt very self conscious in just her tiny black shirt and baggy pants that were only being held up by a loose belt.

"Ash, this... this... but..." She stammered weakly.

"I understand if you don't want to. All you have to do is say no. But, honestly, don't you feel all this between us, just begging to be released?"

He gazed at her with half lidded eyes and she knew that she wouldn't be able to just lie and say no, taking the easy way out. She would tell the truth.

"Yes." She whispered.

It was all Ash needed to hear. She felt his arms pull her to him and his lips slowly met her own in a tender kiss. The instant it happened she knew she should've pushed him off, but she chose to push the logical part of her brain to the back. He was Ash and she was Misty and, truthfully, she felt as if she were entitled to this. She would be lying if she said that she didn't want this. To what extent? Who knows and who gives a shit? She felt like a kid again and gasped as she felt his hands start to wander.

It seemed as if Ash had tired of simply kissing her. He kicked it up a notch (like Emeril!) and his tongue fluidly entered her mouth. She felt herself being lowered onto Ash's bed, him above her.

"Gods Misty, you're amazing." He mumbled into her mouth.

She felt him fumbling with her belt and anticipated what could possibly be coming. His mouth never left hers as his right hand plunged into her jeans and his left went up her shirt and caressed her breast. She knew that the first match of the day was starting at that moment, but honestly she didn't care. This was _Ash_. This was the prize she had coveted for years and years. She threw her head back, throwing more of her breast into his inexperienced hand and let herself fall prey to the sensations she assumed were on the way.


	14. Chapter 14

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: Have you ever had an idea about something, but when it came time to execute something else emerged? Well, that was what happened last chapter!

I have to add some Pokeshippy. Personally, I don't care for the pair much but it's something that has to be addressed in most every Egoshippy story I've ever read.

Sorry to leave you on a cliffhanger! This chapter picks up where the last one leaves off and will go until the end of the tournament. I'm not sure how long this will be but, with everything I have planned, I think its safe to say that this chapter might run a little long. Possibly as long as the massive battle chapter. Thank god that chapter is done.

Oh, I'm going to need everyone to vote at the end of the chapter. I won't tell you now, but once you reach the end you'll know what I'm talking about. Thanks guys!

But anyways, I love reviews. Keep 'em coming!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 14

Hero of the Day

Well, here she was. She was in Ash's room in Ash's bed with Ash's hand down her pants and Ash's tongue in her throat. She reasoned that this was _right_, it couldn't get any better than this. She threw her hands into his hair and brought him even closer than he already was. The hand that was in her pants was grabbing her ass- squeezing and massaging like there was no tomorrow. His other hand was clawing at the front of her bra, trying to get rid of it. Didn't he realize that the clasp was in the back?

"Oh Misty I love you so much." Ash said, his voice heavily laced with lust.

He eventually gave up on the bra and focused his attention on getting her pants off. She felt him unzipping them and let her mind wander. Ash was horny and it was painstakingly obvious that he wanted her. Her pants came off and Ash threw them onto the floor, now working on his own. Ash was whispering sweet nothings and desperately needed to make her his own right now. She felt his hands shake as he wriggled out of his jeans. Why wasn't she feeling this need; why did she fail to ignite; why did his kisses and caresses do nothing?

She always knew that Ash was a briefs boy.

With nothing more than underwear separating them Misty became well aware of how bad Ash wanted her. He ground his hips into her, pushing his full on erection into her thigh. She arched her back mechanically, like it was just what she was supposed to do but all the while wondering why she _still_ didn't feel anything. Just when she was starting to think that she was under some sort of paralysis Ash finally did something to make her feel something. He grabbed her pantied crotch.

It just wasn't the kind of feeling she expected.

Instantly alarm bells went off in her head. This was not right! Immediately she thought of Gary and, even more importantly, how he had made her feel alive. She liked how his skilled hands wove her like silk. She liked how he always assumed there'd be a tomorrow and never groped her in desperation. She loved his blue eyes. And his sexy smirk. She loved how he openly flirted with her, not caring what anyone thought. She loved his smile and she loved his laugh. But, probably more to the point, she simply loved him.

Shit.

She threw Ash off of her and he gave her a confused and disoriented look. Yeah right, she thought. He had seduced her and she had fallen under his spell like a puppet. Psh, as if anyone would believe that. She was seduced by Ash, it sounded odd even to her own ears. She jumped out of the bed and put her pants back on. She saw Ash rise, he was probably going to try to stop her and lull her back to his bed. Well, ain't gonna happen. Sorry Ash, but it seems that her heart had moved on after all.

"No Ash. No, no, no, no."

She felt herself tearing up in guilt. She felt bile rise to her throat as she thought of what had happened and what could have happened. She didn't bother looking back at Ash as she ran from the room. She headed towards the battle arena and tears flew from her eyes. There was no time to wipe them away, she only increased her pace and prayed that everything would be ok.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She was surprised to see Flannery waiting at the front entrance. Her friend looked like she was ready to scold her but abruptly stopped as she actually got a good look at Misty's face. Misty only assumed that she probably looked like nothing more than shit.

"Misty what happened?" Flannery ran and hugged her.

"I fucked up, Flannery. I fucked up big time."

She then proceeded to tell Flannery, in full detail, what had happened with Ash. They made their way into the arena where there were absolutely no empty seats. Instead, the two women got as close to the front as the could. They stood and watched the battle taking place. She saw Gary in one corner and she felt relieved that she still made his match, but his opponent?!?!

"Flannery that's Drake! Leader of the Hoenn Elite Four!" Misty yelled.

"Oh yeah, you weren't here. Lance made another one of his speeches. It all resulted in that." Flannery pointed to a billboard that wasn't there yesterday.

_DAY 3_

_Quarter Finals_

_Match 1 Gary vs. Drake_

_Match 2 Lorelei vs. Lance_

_Match 3 Sidney vs. Wallace_

_Match 4 Bruno vs. Karen_

Now that was unexpected. The top 4 trainers in the world decided to enter and make winning a whole lot harder. For a second she felt proud of Gary because he was the only non-Elite Four (or Pokemon Master) member on that board, but then asked what had happened. Flannery recapped to her that Gary had taken out Drake's Altaria with his Lucario easily enough. But, Drake brought out his Salamence and had beaten Lucario senseless. Gary followed up with a Skarmony, but was slowly losing that fight too. By now Skarmony was in pretty bad shape whereas Salamence was barely exhausted.

"And Skarmony is hit with Dragonbreath! Is there anything that will save it?" The announcer called out.

As if by magic, Gary looked into the crowd then. Misty knew that she had been spotted and felt herself tear up again at his concerned look. What would he feel once he knew the truth? She buried her head into Flannery's shoulder and couldn't stop the sobs. She totally missed him mouthing "what's wrong" to Flannery; also missing when Flannery mouth back one word to Gary, "Ash." All she heard was the crowd gasping as Salamence fired off a Hyper Beam. She looked up, praying that Skarmony found a way to dodge.

And it did.

She gasped as it started glowing, narrowly avoiding the Hyper Beam. To be honest, she thought that Gary was a goner. Somehow both he and Skarmony managed to renew their determination. But, when she looked at his face she saw nothing but pure anger. He looked like he wanted to wring Salamence's neck himself. She knew that he wasn't like that a minute ago. What had gotten him so pissed off?

"Skarmony Sky Attack while he's immobile." Gary commanded.

Skarmony's attack landed right on target and Salamence was forced to back up a few steps. It shook its massive head, trying to shake off Skarmony's attack. Before Drake had a chance to speak up Gary was on the attack.

"Air Slash and charge." Gary's angry monotone voice said.

"Salamence are you ok?" Drake asked his prized pokemon as it was hit again.

Salamence nodded. But, it was pretty clear that taking two shots right after firing off a Hyper Beam had worn Salamence out. It almost looked as bad as Skarmony had when Misty first showed up. The tables had turned just like that.

"Quick Salamence Crunch it!" Drake yelled.

"Don't let it hit you Skarmony. Steel Wing!"

Dragons were weak against steel type moves and this was no exception. Salamence opened its mouth to attack Skarmony, but it nimbly moved out of the way. It's wings struck Salamence hard and it it screamed in pain. Skarmony jumped back and powered up, not wasting a second.

"Flash Cannon." Drake and Salamence both widened their eyes.

Gary's eyes stood unwavering as Skarmony fired off its attack, effectively knocking out Salamence and winning a match that he would have lost under normal circumstance. By now Misty had figured out what had triggered Gary's anger and, honestly, it scared her. He always seemed so easygoing and carefree; could her crying really turn his blue eyes into ice? He was announced the winner and the crowd went wild, amazed that a newbie gym leader had actually beat the leader of the elite four. Misty knew that he really could care less at the moment though. He looked into her eyes and she just knew that he had only hurried the battle along so that he could talk to her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

She gulped as she made her way backstage. She had managed to stop crying and washed her face. In her opinion, it didn't really help. She just couldn't believe everything that had happened today. It felt like a lifetime ago when she was sitting in the coffee shop talking about the rock fragment. She knew that Flannery was walking next to her, but soon enough she'd be gone and she'd have to face Gary alone. He had no idea what happened, and she could just lie to him about it, but it wouldn't work out like that. The guilt was eating her alive and she feared with every bone in her body that she had just screwed up one of the best things that had ever happened to her.

"It'll be ok, Gary's crazy about you. He'll forgive you." Flannery tried to reassure her.

"Why should he? I don't forgive me."

"You weren't in your right mind. Ash manipulated your mind to make you feel the reminisce. It was a cheap scumbag trick."

"And I fell for it. For a second, I really did want to be with Ash." Misty lamented.

"And that's to be expected. You chased after him for years! If Gary can't understand that then he doesn't deserve you either!" Misty smiled.

"Thanks Flannery."

The girls split then and Misty trudged forward. The guard at the door recognized her and let her in without complaint. Under normal circumstances she would be in awe right now. The most elite trainers on the planet were all just sitting around boredly, waiting for their turn to battle. Almost immediately Gary was at her side, asking what was wrong and if she wanted him to hunt down Ash. She sighed and pulled him out of the room. They walked around until they found an empty room. Once there she hugged him as tight as she could, for all she knew it would be for the last time.

"Misty what's wrong?" He asked, totally serious for once.

"Please. Just hug me right now." She whispered.

She felt the tears roll down her face as he did what she asked. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve the kindness he was giving her, but she selfishly held on. Time stopped for her in that moment. The tournament was still going and the crowd was still cheering but at the same time none of it was real. The only thing that mattered was this boy hugging her. He had snaked his way into her being and she finally realized that it was more then just a fling. She genuinely cared for him and had gone behind his back. He deserved the truth.

"I'm so sorry Gary." She mumbled into his chest.

"For what?" He whispered.

"Ash. We..."

She couldn't finish her sentence as the sobs came. She broke the hug and tried to compose herself. She calmed her sobs but couldn't put a stop to the constant waterworks. As she watched Gary's face she saw how realization hit him and his eyes went dead. There was no emotion in them, just blankness.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" She cried.

"I know you didn't." He gave her a small smile.

"It's just that Ash-" He cut her off.

"I know that you and him had deep history together. I don't blame you."

This wasn't right. She expected him to yell, cry, scream, ANYTHING! But he just sat there with those dead eyes telling her that she was innocent. But she wasn't! Even worse guilt now flooded her as she stood there, stunned at Gary's icy demeanor.

"I don't want to fuck up what we have!" She confessed.

"You're an amazing girl, Misty. I'll always be in your corner."

She kept crying as he continued.

"You did what you had to do. I'm happy that you came to tell me the truth. I just want you to be happy. I wish you guys the best. But, if he ever makes you cry I'll break his fucking neck." Gary finished.

What? If he ever makes me cry? Realization slammed into Misty with a bang. Gary thought that she was leaving him for Ash! It was the only possible explanation! She started laughing hysterically at the insanity of it all. They had been having a conversation about two very different things! Gary gave her a worried look and she figured that she probably made quite the sight: crying her eyes out while laughing for all she was worth. She calmed herself down and wiped her teary eyes, a huge smile replacing it. Maybe there was hope after all.

"I don't want to leave you Gary."

She saw him snap his head to look at her, an unreadable look in his eyes. That was fine with her, it was a step above his dead eyes. Using her newfound hope she continued.

"I was talking with Ash and it escalated. We kissed. Next thing I know we're laying on his bed and neither of us have pants on." She lost her composure and started crying again, she didn't want to remember.

"His hands were everywhere and it doesn't take a genius to figure out what he wanted and where it would have gone. And I didn't stop him. I just kissed him back and wondered why I wasn't feeling anything."

Suddenly she couldn't stand anymore. Her legs gave way and she landed on her knees. She realigned herself and brought her knees to her chest. She rocked back and forth, trying to stop her shaking body. It wasn't fair! Why couldn't she just have said no and ran, or not let him lead her into his room, or anything! How could she let herself be consumed like that? And right when she was starting to understand her feelings for Gary. Was it even possible to fall for someone in a week? As she felt him sit down next to her and pull her to him she knew the answer to her question.

"What happened next?" He asked once she calmed down.

"You dammit! I thought of you, and this entire week, and how I love everything about you, and how I was making the biggest mistake of my life! I pushed him off me and jumped into my jeans and ran straight to the match."

She finished and felt as if a great weight were lifted. Everything was out in the open now. He hugged her tight and she cried out apology after apology. Misty knew that Gary understood her need to just let it all out. After a minute or so of nonstop crying she felt his finger under her chin, willing her to meet his eyes. Maybe it was just all the tears, but she'd swear that he was starting to tear up as well. She tried to smile, but it probably came out as a gross grimace. Oh well, it's the thought that counts.

"I forgive you. Just please don't cry anymore." He begged.

"Sorry." She sniffled.

"And please stop apologizing. It's ok."

She felt him starting to shake and he grabbed her and held her tight. It seemed that his dead face had finally fallen and he was letting her see how much he really cared. She hugged him in return and they stayed in that position, on the ground, for a nice long time before finally separating. Misty noted that Gary's eyes looked content as he stared up at the ceiling. She could only assume that her eyes were exactly the same.

"You know, it's actually a relief. I knew that you had something still pent up for him and it kind of gnawed away in the back of my mind. Now that you've had the 'Ash Experience' and still want this. It's a good feeling." She was shocked at his words.

"But why? I don't understand. I almost sleep with Ash and you're relieved while I feel like I'm the worst person ever. I'm not complaining, but how are you able to just forgive me?"

His laughter was like music to her ears.

"Dummy, and here I thought you were supposed to be smart. If you think about it I'm sure you'll figure it out; now c'mon, let's get you cleaned up."

Misty smiled and took Gary's hand. Together, they made their way to the hotel so Misty could change. With the time it took her to change and get back to the arena they arrived just in time to see Bruno fall at the hands of Karen. Meaning that they had inadvertently missed all of the quarter final matches, giving up the chance to sit front row for the dream battles of the century. It just seemed that some things were more important than pokemon and battling.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Misty cheered her head off. She had found out that Tracy really _had_ been spending extra time with Lily lately, as her hired bodyguard/bag carrier. Whatever that meant. But the result of this was that she was sitting with her sisters and Professor Oak. Flannery was chatting with Daisy and Brawly was absorbed in the match. On the way back to the hotel she had seen a shirt at one of the tournament vendors that she just had to have. So now, with her denim shorts, she happily sported a crimson shirt with GOTTA LOVE GARY! written in yellow letters.

"We're jumping right into the semi-finals with Gary Oak taking on Lance the Dragon Master!"

As they came out the cheers did as well. Over the course of the tournament Gary had built himself a following by winning battle after battle where he was the underdog. And then there was Lance. The part-time Elite Four Leader, part-time Pokemon Master was easily the favorite to win this whole thing. She diverted her attention to Gary, who had a knack for finding her in the crowd. This was no exception. He grinned and blew her a kiss, effectively turning her face as red as her shirt. Her sisters giggled proceeded to tell her how cute she was and whatnot. She rolled her eyes and got up to move away from them.

"Hey Handsome, is this seat taken?" She giggled.

Professor Oak's eyes widened then he calmed down and smiled, patting the seat next to him.

"Of course not Misty, have a seat... so tell me, am I going to be seeing more of you now?" He chuckled and Misty blushed.

"Oh Professor, not you too!"

"Hahaha. I'm just happy that Gary chose a girl with a good head on her shoulders. I'm serious, though. Don't hesitate to visit, I'm sure Tracy would like it as well. You're welcome at the Oak estate whenever you like." She smiled, thankful that she was approved.

"Thanks."

Their conversation was cut short as Lance unleashed his Dragonite. It seems that he wouldn't make the mistake of underestimating Gary like the rest of his opponents had. She watched Gary chuckle at the Dragonite; not in a condescending way, just kind of amused by the whole situation. Who would have thought that he would actually make it this far? Misty spotted Ash in the crowd and saw the envy in his eyes. She knew that it was for more than one reason, facing Lance always was Ash's dream. And, in a way, so had she. Now Gary posessed them both.

"Man, facing you was my ultimate goal when I first left Pallet so many years ago. But, when I started researching I just assumed that I'd never get the chance. Just look at me now!" Gary laughed.

"Well, you deserve it. Beating both Agatha and Drake at your age is nothing less than spectacular. Are you sure that giving up being a trainer is what you want? You could easily become one of the Elite Four if you wanted?" Lance asked.

"Thanks, but I'll have to say no. I've found a passion in researching. But don't count me out as a battler, I've been dreaming of this match since I was a kid. And I know exactly which pokemon I want to use. Blastoise go!"

Gary's water turtle looked like it was ready to go to war. The determination in its eyes was so strong that even Dragonite looked a little put off. Misty knew that it was Gary's very first pokemon, and obviously his loyalest, and could definitely see his reasons for choosing it in a battle with Lance.

"Dragon Claw Dragonite!" Lance kicked off the battle.

"Meet it head on, Aqua Tail!"

As Misty watched the battle she noticed that Blastoise was a very physical pokemon. It had no problem meeting Dragonite blow for blow and kept a smirk on its face the entire time. She sighed, it had obviously been trained by a young Gary. After trading random blows the two pokemon reached a sumo position stalemate. As they tried to outmatch each others' strength she watched, completely captivated.

"Flip Blastoise, now Skull Bash Dragonite while its still confused!"

The attack sent Dragonite flying, but the dragon easily caught itself and landed on its feet.

"Don't give up Dragonite, Aerial Ace!"

"Quick Blastoise into your shell."

Dragonite got the in time to damage Blastoise, but Blastoise got into its shell early enough to only take half damage.

"Now use Water Bomb!" Gary commanded.

Water Bomb? Misty was confused. She was a water trainer and knew every water type move that was in use, but she had never heard of Water Bomb. She laughed as she watched Blastoise, it had to be a technique they had created themselves. It started out like Rapid Spin, but then Blastoise took to the air and went straight for Dragonite, using water as a propelling force to make it a whole lot more damaging then a mere Rapid Spin.

"Slam it Dragonite." Lance ordered, not afraid of the mystery attack.

"Damn, pop out Blastoise! Ice Beam!" Gary changed the plan.

"Fly to dodge!"

"Here it comes Blastoise, Muddy Water!"

Misty had to admit that she was impressed. It wasn't that she thought that Gary would be beaten into the ground, per se, but she sure didn't expect he'd hold his own against Lance like this. Both men were crafty, and quick to switch attack plans. She suddenly realized that there was no way she could have won this. If she had faced either Gary or Lance she was now positive that it would have ended in her defeat.

"RETURN!" Both men yelled in unison.

Misty kept watching. Even her sisters, who had been barely paying the match any attention, were now focused on the dueling pokemon. It was complete silence as all eyes were glued, not even the fangirls were making a peep. Misty just knew that somewhere, some kid was watching this on tv thinking "that will be me someday." But, for a moment her eyes furrowed, something Gary had told her earlier still had her curious.

_They had just gotten back to the battle arena. She had called Daisy and her sister was on her way to the entrance to bring her to their seats. Misty looked at Gary and noticed that he seemed kind of dazed, like his mind was somewhere else. She gave his hand a squeeze and gave him a questioning look when he turned to her._

_"I don't know if I can win this one." He said simply._

_"What do you mean?" She asked, confused._

_"I was pushing it with Drake. I probably would have lost if I wasn't so pissed off. You see, I want to make a splash in my last match and go out with a bang."_

_"What do you mean?" She repeated._

_"You'll see."_

_He sighed at her annoyed look and gave her a hint._

_"I told you that I was here for more then one reason."_

_Before she could ask him any more questions Daisy appeared. She turned to Gary and smiled. He gave her a goodbye kiss and she hugged him for a little more time then she normally would've. As Daisy led her to the seats she couldn't help but wonder what he meant. But there was no way of telling, she'd probably guess wrong anyways. Only time would tell._

She tuned back into the match after finishing her little daydream. The Return attack had resulted in a stalemate. Dragonite and Blastoise jumped apart, both seemingly out of breath. Time was starting to take its toll on Blastoise, though. It didn't battle too often and wouldn't be able to keep this pace up much longer. The only consolation was that Dragonite looked pretty exhausted as well.

"Fire Blast!"

"Hydro Pump!"

It was a timeless moment that would no doubt happen again someday. Fire Blast and Hydro Pump smashed into each other in a beautiful display. Misty assumed that it would stay true to the cliche and just build in power until the explosion. But Blastoise had other plans.

"Blastoise what are you doing?!" Gary yelled.

Blastoise jumped to the side, angling its attack so that it would hit Dragonite head on. The catch was that, in the process, it took the full Fire Blast. This marked the second time in the tournament that Gary's pokemon had disobeyed him to knock out their opponent. Somehow it didn't shock her that the two pokemon who had the gusto to do their own thing were the two who had been with Gary the longest. They were sure loyal as hell, with confidence in their trainer to boot! The two pokemon fell, both knocked out.

"Thank you Blastoise." Gary murmured to his longtime friend.

"This is the second time this has happened, Gary. You're pokemon really want you to win." Lance noted.

"Yeah, Blastoise was my starter pokemon. It's never afraid to remind me exactly who does the battling. Stubborn as hell, though."

"One would assume that Blastoise picked it up from its trainer." Gary smirked.

"Probably."

Lance smiled and threw his second pokeball. As the glowing light took form Misty almost fell out of her seat. Another Dragonite! The first one had been hard enough, how was Gary going to manage to take down a second one? She saw him take in the Dragonite and nod, as if making a silent decision. Maybe it was time for the surprise?

"You know that I'm a professor in the making, right Lance?" Gary asked sociably.

"I've heard that you have research that will blow away the world. But, I haven't had the privilege to actually know what it is you're researching." Lance smiled, starting to get excited.

"I'll admit, I'm planning on using this tournament as a gateway into the researching world. I know its not really PC, and I've been good all tournament long, only dropping hints here and there; but now it's time. I don't want to be beaten before I have a chance to show the world what I've accomplished over the last few years. Then again, maybe I just want attention. Hahaha, pokeball go!"

Misty gasped as she figured out exactly what Gary was doing. He wouldn't really bring one out here, would he? As she watched she laughed, hell yeah he would- it's Gary Oak! She saw the entire crowd go crazy, even crazier then when he brought out Lucario! Well, he wanted the world to know that he was a professor in the making? He got it. The world would be keeping a close eye on the guy who had managed to catch a Latias.

"Pokemon of legend, extinct or rarely spotted. This will be an honor." Lance smiled.

"I feel the same way. Don't sell yourself short, Lance." Gary smiled back.

Misty knew that this would be an amazing duel. The two trainers nodded at each other, mutual respect (and anticipation) on their faces. It wasn't about the tournament anymore. These two men just wanted to have some down and dirty fun.

"Mist Ball Latias!"

"Agility and take to the sky, you can dodge it Dragonite!"

"Follow it Latias, fly up there and use Zen Headbutt!"

"Quickly Dragonite, Outrage!"

They two pokemon were so high in the sky Misty couldn't really see them due to the glare of the sun and the flashes of all the cameras going off. She thought briefly of Snap, the photographer she had met so many years ago. Was he here somewhere, getting the pictures that would get him enough money for an early retirement? There was no time to think about that now, she realized, because they were coming back down!

"Reflect Latias, Outrage is bound to run out sooner or later!"

One wouldn't even know that Latias even had a barrier up. It was becoming obvious that this Dragonite was a lot stronger then the first; and its Outrage attack lasted an amazing 5 turns before finally stopping. Latias had softened the blows the best it could, but that was one strong ass powered up Dragonite.

"Eat your Berry Dragonite!" Lance commanded, effectively getting rid of the confusion problem.

"Draco Meteor now Latias!"

Misty was in awe. She knew that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Draco Meteor was an ancient attack, she knew, but it had never occurred to her that Gary's pokemon had the resources to use it. He quickly followed up with Latias' signature move Mist Ball, but Dragonite was on guard by then and wasn't hit too bad. She found herself mumbling the words "no fucking way" to herself as she watched both pokemon start to power up. It would be another simultaneous attack!

"HYPER BEAM!" Both trainers yelled.

Geez, she thought that the Hydro Pump/Fire Blast collision had been something- but she was seriously mistaken. There was no topping the twin Hyper Beams of the two dragons. Misty knew that the end of this match was near, Hyper Beam was the kind of move you used when you assumed that victory was within your grasp. The ever cataclysmic explosion eventually came and both pokemon reeled back. Misty knew that this would be the defining moment, both pokemon had to recharge before being able to battle again. It was just a matter of who would recharge first.

"Giga Impact!"

It all happened in slow motion. And in that moment the entire tournament flashed before Misty's eyes. Tracy and the Professor, the jeep, Flannery, Brawly, the white rose, Daisy, acceptance, Brock, Ash (oh Ash), happiness, warmth, passion, Gary's face. Then it all came full circle and she was right back where she started, the match. Over the entire tournament Gary had proved his critics wrong by demonstrating that he was an amazing trainer and not just a spoiled rich boy; and, with help from Latias, his researching career was looking to be destined for greatness. But, in terms of the battle, it came down to experience. Lance and Dragonite fired off Hyper Beams almost on a daily basis, and knew how to make a speedy recovery. This match would go to the Dragon Master.

"Latias return!" Gary called it back before Giga Impact hit.

"You know what this means, right?" Lance asked while Gary just grinned.

"You bet. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

"The winner of this battle, and also moving on to the finals, is Lance!" The announcer declared.

Misty saw Gary catch her eye. She didn't detect any sadness in his eyes; in actuality, it was the opposite. He seemed really happy with everything that had just happened! Well, why wouldn't he be? She knew that researching was where his passion was and now he was on the map. It was just in those damned Oak genes that he happened to be charming and a good trainer on top of just being smart. The world was happy to cheer on the winner, but in this case the loser was probably just as loved. The cheers increased tenfold when Gary and Lance met in the middle and shook hands.

It would definitely be a hard match to top.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The finals match had finally arrived. After Lance and Gary's battle Wallace had beaten Karen in the longest battle of the entire tournament. The excitement levels were high as everyone wanted to know who would win all. All of the seats were taken by the time Gary made it to the rest of the group, so Misty opted to let him have hers while she sat on his lap. The arrangement wouldn't have been so bad if she weren't sitting next to Professor Oak, who was babbling away with Gary about boring science stuff. Bleh.

She spotted Ash across the stadium, go figure. He looked up and wanly smiled- he sure as hell looked like shit- and mouth one word, sorry.

In response she held up her middle finger.

To be fair, she knew that he honestly didn't mean to cause as much trouble as he did. Ash honestly thought that, deep in her heart, she still wanted to be with him as much he wanted her yet there was the obvious catch. She didn't. After what had happened earlier in the morning she was pretty positive that her perogative finally bypassed his thick skull and registered in his head. She would finally get her peace. But somehow it didn't really atone. Ash had almost ruined her and Gary (and while she knew that she was partially responsible it was just so much easier to blame Ash). She wouldn't be quick to forgive him. One day they'd probably make up and be friends again, but it would happen in time. One sorry just wouldn't cut it.

"Oh and Milotic blocks Red Gyarados' attack!"

It was down to the final moments. Wallace's Milotic and Lance's Red Gyarados had put on an amazing show for the crowd. Misty smiled at the irony of the two finalists. They were easily two of the most recognizable faces in the pokemon world, and this match up was making dreams come true all around the world. She suddenly understood why Gary was so ok with not being a finalist and realized that it didn't bother her too much either. Albeit at first she was a little ticked because she wanted to win, but she managed to do just fine with striking out. This entire experience had made its impact and probably would have been just as magical even without the tournament.

"So, who are you rooting for?" Gary asked her.

"Wallace, obviously. He's an icon for water trainers everywhere!" She gushed.

"I'll bet he is. He won't beat Lance though." Gary predicted.

"Are you serious?" She asked incredulously.

"Hells yeah. Wallace is good, but he's way out of his league. Lance's dragon will crush a water type. The guy's practically on his own level!"

Gary failed to notice her twitching vein until it was too late. It was one thing to believe in Lance. But, it was totally different when he thought Lance would win because water types were weak. Her ever infamous temper snapped and she went volcano on him. She furiously lashed out in defense for water pokemon everywhere, occasionally bopping him on the head for good measure. She kind of expected him to yell back, but instead he just laughed and pulled her into a kiss. It was probably to shut her up... but somehow it didn't really seem like such a bad thing. She was so absorbed in it that she totally missed the end of the match. A crash was heard and the crowd went wild (AGAIN).

"That's it folks! The tournament is over, we have a winner!"


	15. Chapter 15

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: Wow I've made it to the end. That's so cool, I've never actually finished a story. I can now understand why authors tend to say that its a bittersweet thing: you grow attached to the characters and this plot that's all your own, it's kind of hard to say goodbye... that's why there are epilogues!

You know, I had planned on making this a light and fluffy story. Towards the end it kind of took on a darker and more serious undertone. I'm not sure how I feel about that, considering the entire duration is a week. I feel like I wanted to stay true to reality and didn't intend to come across with making Misty seem a little slutty. I'm really sorry if anyone felt that way. But, as I type this and reflect on it now I realize that I refuse to be anything but proud. This story evolved right underneath my fingertips and I can't say that it's a bad thing.

Hey! Just a little bit of trivia. Every chapter of this story was named after a song. Can anyone name all of them? I'll reveal the answers in the epilogue.

Reviewers! You have kept me going with your, mostly, kind words. And even you Flamers! I appreciate everyone's honesty and I thank you so much for sticking it out with me. We're almost there!

I'm dedicating this last chapter to Tomoyo Kinomoto. You've been there with me all the way and always had something cheery to say, thanks.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Chapter 15

Livin' On A Prayer

----------

It was kind of strange that the tournament was over. The sun was starting to set and Misty knew that tomorrow she would be back in Cerulean City. She knew that the week would eventually come to an end, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to go back to her life. It seemed like a whole lifetime ago, really. She had changed, grown, and didn't want to go back to that gloomy routine. She smiled to herself- there was no way that Gary would just let her walk out of his life; so maybe it would be different.

"Will you guys hurry up?" She called to her sisters.

In order to celebrate their last night in the Indigo Plateau it had been decided that it was time to let loose. There was a club near the hotel and everyone was supposed to be there around sunset. But, while Misty was sitting on her bed ready to go she knew that the Waterflower sisters would be making a fashionably late entrance. She surveyed herself in the mirror and decided that she looked good. Nowhere near as glamorous as her sisters, but that just wasn't her.

She was wearing a pear of jeans that had seen their fare share of troubled times. There were literally holes all over the place. The only area left unscathed was her private zone, but the holes left little to the imagination. To compensate for that she was wearing a pair of black fishnets underneath the jeans. Her top was a simple black spaghetti strap cami with an Octillery printed on it. It wasn't really saucy or anything; but it sure was cute and comfy and that's what she did best! The outfit was completed with her red hightops.

"Sorry we took so long Mist, we're ready now." Daisy smiled.

They walked to the club in relative silence. Misty took the time to reflect on her sisters. They had come a long way over the past few days. It was a pretty cool thing, too. For the first time she really felt like they were friends, on the same level. She'd had interesting times with all of them and they'd given her a little surprise of their own earlier that day. The world tour was over! They'd all return to Cerulean together and Daisy even agreed to learn to battle properly. She had been thinking for the past few days and thought she had come up with an interesting idea on something she could do for Daisy. She just didn't know if it would work.

"Hello Ladies, I was starting to think you'd never show." Gary met them at the entrance with a wink.

Her sisters swooned while she just laughed. It was no mystery that all of her sisters had tiny crushes on Gary, but Misty knew that they respected her enough to leave it at that. Gary led them inside and Misty realized that it wasn't only their group who had come up with the idea of going dancing. Most of the younger gym leaders were there, just having some fun. Even Karen was there, slightly tipsy by the looks of it. There were booths lining the perimeter of the club, and in one of these booths she saw Brawly guarding the table, he looked kind of bored.

"Where is everyone?" She asked.

"Jamming."

She followed his gaze and saw Flannery dancing with Brock, both with goofy grins on their faces. Lily ran off to greet them while Violet grabbed Gary's hand and demanded a dance. He looked to her for help but she just laughed and blew him a kiss. Daisy giggled and went to the bar to get drinks. Left alone with Brawly Misty took a seat in the booth. It would be pretty mean of her to leave him there.

"You holdin' up ok, Cutie?" He asked her with concern.

She smiled at her friend. He still used his old nickname when it was just the two of them. She had spilled the beans to him about the whole Ash and Gary situation that had happened earlier that day. Even though it was resolved she had needed to talk about it and let it all out. Brawly had been the obvious choice. He knew how to shut up and let her talk; a trait that not many people she knew seemed to posses.

"Yeah. It's like nothing ever happened, except that I'm cherishing every moment with him now more than ever." Brawly smiled.

"That's good. With you taken care of I can focus on myself." Misty laughed.

"Oh shut up! You know how sexy you are, you could probably hook up with any chick here."

"Except you." He said in a joking voice.

"Except me. But I'll tell you what, if we're still single in 5 years let's get married and have hot sex and lots of babies." She proposed.

"Hundreds?" He asked.

"Hundreds." She agreed.

It was interesting how she could still flirt with Brawly. Their relationship would probably always be a flirty kind of siblingship. She still couldn't figure out if it was wrong or not, but who gave a shit anyways? As long as there was Gary Misty seriously doubted that she would ever feel anything more for Brawly than friendship. She saw Daisy walking back with a few drinks and got a Gary-esque smirk on her face. As soon as her sister arrived she got up to leave. It was time to put her plan into action.

"Brawly you've met Daisy right?"

"Not really. I heard you sing the national anthem, though. Your voice is amazing." Daisy blushed.

"Thank you. I'm Daisy, Misty's older sister."

Daisy held out her hand to shake but Brawly brought it to his lips and kissed it.

"The pleasure's all mine."

Misty took that moment to cut out. Her plan worked better then she had expected. She knew that Brawly was a sweet guy, but she had never seen him go all out like that. Not that she was complaining, her goal had been to possibly hook them up. After all, Daisy and Brawly were two of the nicest people she knew; they both deserved it. She worked her way over to Brock, who was now dancing with Lily. Gary was busy with his adoring fans. That was ok, though, she had known about his fame and accepted it the same moment she accepted him. It didn't mean she couldn't have any fun of her own though!

"Can I cut in?" She asked.

"Sure! It's a shame that Tracy had to leave early. He probably would've had like lots of fun." Lily said as she released Brock.

That's right, Professor Oak and Tracy had urgent business back in Pallet and had left earlier.

"So, may I have this dance pretty lady?" Brock asked.

"Of course fine sir." She replied, playing along.

Brock was her buddy. They had snuck out to clubs every once in a while when Ash was sleeping. Dancing with him was so familiar she just felt her body do its own thing. It hit her that Brock would go back to traveling with Ash tomorrow. It seemed silly now, but she had just assumed that Brock was there to stay. Even though they had only seen each other for a few days she knew that Brock was a bigger part of her then anyone else there. It was in subtle ways, completely different then Gary, and she realized that she was seriously bummed that he would be leaving her again. But there was nothing she could do about it now except for enjoy the time they had left.

"You know, I'll miss you too." He said, as if he were reading her mind.

"You know me too well, Brock." She smiled.

They danced to a few more songs and eventually went back to the booth. Violet and Flannery were left with guarding duty. She smiled as she spotted Brawly with Daisy on the dance floor, they really were cute together. She absentmindedly grabbed one of the full drinks on the table and took a sip. What the fuck? That was definitely not just orange juice. She took another sip and figured why not? She knew her limit and wouldn't go past it. There was nothing romantic about a puking drunk.

There was conversation at the table but she wasn't really tuned in. It seemed as if Erika, Jasmine and Whitney finally got their wish. All three of them were dancing with Gary at once, as if grinding on him was really dancing. She supposed that she should feel jealous, he was grinning after all, but one look into his eyes and she knew that he was probably not having too much fun. She kept sipping at her drink and didn't even know she was so spaced out until she heard Flannery's voice.

"Hey ignore them. Let's dance!"

She felt herself being led back to the dancefloor by Flannery. She had to admit that her friend was looking good. A simple red plaid skirt and black top could do wonders for people. The two girls danced and temporarily forgot about guys. It was always fun to jam out!

"Brock told me that Ash really regrets what happened." Flannery started.

"Oh yeah? Well, that's too damn bad." Misty held her ground.

She was surprised when Flannery threw her head back and laughed heartily.

"Hahaha good! I was trying to be nice for your sake but it's great to hear that you've hardened to his goober ass!"

That was Flannery all right. It was funny, they were pretty good friends when it all began but now she considered Flannery to be another sister. As if she didn't have enough of them already. But honestly, the Lavaridge Gym Leader was a person that Misty know she'd be friends with forever. Besides, feisty red heads were few and far between- what would she do without her partner in crime? She sighed, once again reminded that it would all change tomorrow.

A little while, and a couple drinks, later Misty was still jamming with Flannery. Liquid courage had somehow given them the energy to keep going. They had drawn in their own fans from time to time. It seemed that Brawly was right when he said that she was pretty popular with the male gym leaders- Morty and Bugsy had both snagged a dance out of her. Time eventually caught up to her and she realized that she was a little tired. She moved to go back to the booth when she was grabbed from behind.

"Pervert!" She turned and slapped the mystery person.

"Ouch! What kind of greeting is that? Honestly Red, you're sure dense at times." Gary rubbed his cheek.

Whoops, now that wasn't very slick. Oh well, it's what he gets for being a social butterfly.

"Dance with me." He murmured.

All thoughts of returning to the booth disappeared with Gary's three words.

It was strange; even though Gary had been flirting all night long it was all ok. After their moment in the empty room they had bonded somehow. She finally knew exactly how she felt about him and, although she had never admitted it to him, she knew that Gary was aware. She had a hunch that he felt exactly the same, but it was best to not assume. Yet, in the way he held her close she doubted she could believe him if he told her she was wrong.

"I was wondering if you'd ever come see me." She teased.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. I was starting to think you didn't like me anymore."

She tried as hard as she could to keep a pouty look on her face. But, the booze had long since kicked in and she erupted in a burst of giggles. Gary shook his head and pulled her too him. The last thing she saw was pure amusement before they met in a kiss. Judging by his taste, she was pretty sure that he had gotten his hands on some "orange juice" as well. The rest of the night went by pretty quickly. Gary refused to leave her side and they danced the night away. It was something out of a dream. He had torn her walls down and she just let herself be the princess for once.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_It was the battle of the century and everyone knew it. Between the two competitors you were looking at the Champions of all 3 pokemon leagues. I didn't matter if you were a pokemaniac or not; this was the kind of battle that EVERYONE watched. Years from now people would remember exactly where they were- watching a tv, listening on the radio, or sitting in the stands- when it began. Probably luckiest of all were Clair and Juan, who had the oppurtunity to, literally, sit at ringside. The announcer did his bit and introduced the two finalists. Psh. As if they really needed introducing. Wallace and Lance peered at each other, sizing up the competition. Although both men were champions it was no mystery that a lot rode on this match. It was a matter of pride. And only one man could win. They threw their pokeballs at the exact moment and started barking orders like drill sergeants. The match had begun._

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The walk back to the hotel was an eventful one indeed. Misty had been sure to not overgo her limits but the same couldn't be said for everyone. Violet looked worse for wear, apparently she had a puking episode in the bathroom and was now nursing a cup of coffee. Brock, who was usually everyone's mom, had ended up being quite the Casanova back at the club. All was going well until he tried to hook up with two chicks at once, now he was sporting a bruised up shoulder.

"I'm like soooo sorry about this Brawly."

"Oh it's no problem, really."

Then there was Daisy. The blonde had never drank anything alcoholic before. Misty had found out the hard way that Daisy was a hardcore lightweight. Her words were slurred; she couldn't even walk, which resulted in Brawly carrying her on piggyback. It really seemed like the two had hit it off, though. It was like that cloud with the silver lining thing. Very cool. She felt Gary tug on her arm and noticed that he was slowing his pace. She did the same and the two of them lagged back a little bit.

"What's up?" She asked him.

"Gramps and Tracy are gone." He got to the point.

"Gary Oak, are you asking me to spend the night?" She asked with a grin on her face.

"That depends. That's the kind of thing that I'd only offer to my girlfriend."

Her jaw dropped. Hadn't he been the one who was all "blah blah blah, i resent those titles" and the like? Yet here he was practically asking her to "go steady." He wanted her as a constant in his life and was shutting the door to all of his female fans. Albeit, they practically were already "official." But, the fact that he bypassed his pride and beliefs to commit to her meant a hundred times more to her then their initial horny hookup. She only had one thing to say:

"Are you serious?" Gary nodded.

"I really thought that I had lost you today. I'm tired of fucking around. I want to stick it out with you and see where it leads us; I'm never letting you go again."

Maybe it was her tipsy mind, but that was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. EVER!

"I thought you resented that kind of thing." She said and watched him groan and slap his forehead.

"I do but I'd do it for you. What more do you want?" She laughed.

"Calm down, Silly, I accept!"

He looked confused for a second before soaking in what she said. Then a big grin spread across his face.

"Really?" She blushed and nodded.

He laughed and gave her a quick kiss before throwing her over his shoulder and running straight to the hotel, passing their confused friends on the way. She had no idea what would happen tonight, but she sure was excited. They had the suite to themselves and, like he had already mentioned, there were no neighbors... and they were both pretty tipsy. The possibilities were endless; but only one thing really rang true in her head- there wouldn't be very much sleeping going on tonight.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_It would have been too damn easy for one man to make quick work of the other. The battle raged on and on until eventually both men were down to their last pokemon. In Wallace's corner was his cherished Milotic- the pokemon that had carried him as a Gym Leader and played a vital role in making him a Champion. It was easily as dedicated to this battle as it's owner. But it's opponent was Lance's Red Gyarados. Red Gyarados was a child of the Lake of Rage. It was an unruly pokemon that chose to disrespect anyone and everyone- the only exception being its trainer, Lance. Both of the supersized sea serpents were feeling the strain of battle, but they held on with resilience. Their trainers were no different. Both men were probably running out of ideas and in serious need of something to drink, but they still trekked onward, knowing that this was a once in a lifetime oppurtunity. _

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Misty woke up the next morning the first thing she noticed was that she was alone. She used both hands to feel around the bed, but he really was gone. She groaned and rolled over. That's when she noticed the sticky note attached to her forehead. Damn Gary probably knew how sore she'd be from the night before. Stupid hangover. She yanked the damned note from her forehead and read it over. She grinned, maybe she could forgive Gary this one time.

_Misty_

_You sleep like a rock! I wish I could be there to see your face when you notice this on your head, hahaha. I had to go run an errand but I'll be back long before the Closing Ceremony so try not to stress. If you need anything then knock yourself out with room service. Consider it my sorry for not being there when you wake up._

_Gary_

Room service eh? While the hotel rooms themselves were all expenses paid the room service was not. And because it was a 5-star hotel on the Indigo Plateau the food was not cheap. It was the kind of stuff that only the rich and powerful could really afford. And she was being told that she could have anything and everything, sky's the limit?! Oh hell yeah! She was by no means a gold digger, but she was really loving Gary's money at the moment.

She was suddenly struck with inspiration and decided to call her sisters. They were probably hung over and would probably appreciate some delicious breakfast. Besides, she was kind of lonely herself. She picked up the phone and dialed the number to her room. It rang a few times before she heard Lily's voice on the other line. If she had to sum up her sisters in a word then Daisy would be compassionate, Violet sassy and Lily was the curious one. Definitely not the sister she was hoping for.

"Hey Lily." She started.

"Misty! I was like hoping to totally talk to you!"

"I'll bet you were. But I just wanted to ask if you guys wanted to--" She was cut off.

"SO did Gary make a woman out of you?"

"None of your damned business!" She yelled.

Her face couldn't be redder. What happened behind closed doors was her business and she wasn't really comfortable telling her sisters about her sexcapades, whether anything happened or not. What happened last night was her and Gary's little secret and it would stay that way. Apparently her answer didn't satisfy Lily and she passed the phone off to Violet. By the way she sounded it was obvious that she was feeling reciprocations from the prior night.

"What do ya want? My head is like killing me!" Violet whined.

"Gary's running an errand or whatever and I wanted to know if you guys were busy."

"Aw shit, gotta go Mist! Something's coming back up!"

She heard yelling in the background and assumed that it was Violet making her way to the bathroom. There was silence for a second and then Daisy finally took the phone. At last, her reasonable sister. Why hadn't she just answered it from the beginning?

"What's up?" Daisy asked.

"Gary's out and left me a note saying I can knock myself out with room service. You guys want some good breakfast?"

She could practically see Daisy's excited smile as she asked if she was serious.

"Completely, just bring my luggage with so I can change ok? I'm on the top floor. Presidential suite or something like that."

"Cool, see you in a few."

A little while later her sisters had arrived and they called up room service. By the time Gary had come back Misty had discovered the complimentary fluffy bath robes and all four sisters were wearing one. They were all lounging on couches in the living room with enough food to feed a small village. Misty heard him chuckle and smiled, jumping over the back of the couch to give him a hug. Gary waved hello to the other Waterflowers and hugged Misty.

"Damn you guys got everything on the menu!" He laughed.

"Not quite, we don't eat seafood." Violet corrected.

They laughed and Misty spared a look at the clock. It was about 10-ish. In an hour she would have to be at the battle arena to rehearse the closing ceremony before it was televised at noon. Then, after the ceremony it was the end. Everyone would make a break for the train station and go back to their cities to run their gyms. Hmm, she had gotten a ride up here but they had left. How was she going to get home? As if Gary read her mind he spoke up.

"Gramps left the jeep here for me. I can bring you guys up to Cerulean."

"Awesome!"

They sat down and dug into the super breakfast with tons of hangover coffee in circulation. The hour passed by pretty quick and everyone loaded their bags onto the Jeep. Well, backpacks at least. Her sisters had sent their heavy luggage back to the gym via PokEx. They wanted to split out right after the closing ceremony and, hopefully, beat the traffic rush. So, Gary passed the keys to Daisy so that they could pick up some last minute travel supplies while they went off to the rehearsals, it was a long way to Cerulean City.

"Are you sure the Jeep is safe with them?" Gary asked.

"I think so. They all managed to get their licenses. But anyways, where were you this morning?" He smirked.

"With my other girlfriend."

She wasn't amused by his answer and clocked him over the head.

"Not funny."

"Man you hit hard. You're lucky that you're so saucy when you get violent, not many girls can pull off the pissed look." He teased.

It didn't matter how much she liked him and knew that he was only playing, the damned boy was amazing at getting under her skin. But, instead of clocking him again she just shook her head. She couldn't imagine Gary without his playful flirting and didn't think she really wanted to. And, before she knew it, she realized that she wasn't even annoyed anymore! Well, at least for a second. Getting a pokeball thrown at her head had her eyes ablaze again.

"The hell?" She demanded as Gary shrugged.

"I'm not really going to be around much after today. Gramps is really serious about me turning my research into a book."

"And what does that have to do with a pokeball being flung at my head?"

"I'm going to be everywhere promoting like nobodies business and you'll probably have to buy a Gary Oak blow up doll because you'll miss me so much." He continued, ignoring her.

They reached the arena and ignored the papparazzos on the way in. She knew that he had something to say, even if he was acting nonchalant... too nonchalant.

"But I know that you'd never go to a kinky sex shop and realized that I'd have to take matters into my own hands."

"Oh yeah?" She asked, highly amused.

"Yeah, I wanted to give you something to remember me by. But I'm not one of those heart locket buying guys, I wanted to give you something that was... well, useful for starters. Open the pokeball."

When the pokemon took form she gave an excited squeak and took it in her arms. Honestly, she had no idea what it was: blue body, large head, long tail like thing coming out of its head. Now that she thought about it it kind of resembled a Manaphy, except for the dots on its head- Manaphy's were yellow while her pokemon had blue ones. She looked at Gary for the answer.

"The coast at Pallet Town is one of my favorite places in the world. I used to play there and think about all the things I would do once I left. A couple of months ago I was in Pallet Town visiting my Grandpa and thought I'd pay that place a visit. You know, I think legendary pokemon have some sort of way to reach each other because a Manaphy came straight to me as if it knew who I was. It let me study it after playing around with it all day. But, right as we were saying goodbye it dove into the water and came back with an egg. Then it left, leaving the egg in my care."

"No way, is this?" Misty asked with awe.

"Yup. It's a one of a kind legendary pokemon that I've christened Phione. It's still a baby, really, it only hatched a couple of weeks ago. I'm not really good with babies and I know you had Togepi and you love water pokemon-"

She cut him off with a kiss. It really didn't matter that it was a legendary pokemon. It really didn't matter that it was, essentially, a going away gift. But the fact that he put so much thought into giving her something because he wanted to meant the world to her. She didn't need to hear his babble so she kissed him. But some of the fire of last night leaked through and their kiss heated up a lot more then was technically "acceptable." They broke apart to someone clearing their throat behind them.

"Well, if you two are finished we have a rehearsal to start."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Milotic bit into Red Gyarados with malice. It was actually uncharacteristic of a Milotic- usually a pokemon known for being pretty- to get down and dirty, but Wallace had definitely trained his pokemon well. It was showing the world that it could battle just as good as any other pokemon, maybe even better! Gyarados screamed in pain and Milotic capitalized, using the four scales on its tail as blades, slashing into Gyarados. Red Gyarados jerked violently in pain and struggled to stay conscious._

_"Can you hold on, Red Gyarados?" Lance asked his pokemon._

_It turned its head to look Lance straight in the eye. It was a moment only the two of them would, and could, understand. Lance nodded his head in understanding and Gyarados let out a scream. Milotic jumped back in suprise as Gyarados gained a battle aura. In the process of the aura flaring to life Milotic was burned, and was now starting to lose its own health steadily. Gyarados was still definitely the weaker pokemon, though._

_"Boomerang attack!" Lance yelled._

_Boomerang attack? What the hell was that? It soon became obvious that this move was one that Lance had created himself; as Gyarados starting moving in ways that were, until then, never heard of. Gyarados bit into its own tail, causing itself damage in the process, and started to rapidly spin. It took to the air and started whizzing through the arena like a razor sharp frisbee. Milotic and Wallace stayed alert, knowing what would happen next. Sure enough, Red Gyarados charged Milotic at full force._

_"Water tail Milotic!" Wallace commanded._

_Milotic swatted Gyarados right into the ground. A crater was created and Wallace sighed in reflief. It was finally over._

_"Oh and Milotic blocks Red Gyarados' attack!" The announcer hollered._

_All that was left was for the dust to clear and Gyarados be declared fainted. After 10 whole seconds the dust still hadn't cleared and confusion was quickly spreading. Suprised, but not stupid, Wallace looked at Lance and saw that he didn't look worried in the slightest. Definitely not the look of someone who's Gyarados was in serious trouble. The dust cloud then turned into a full blown twister that started moving, Milotic barely dodged in time. Red Gyarados emerged then, still spinning in the air._

_"It's not called Boomerang attack for nothing, it'll keep coming back. So prepare yourself for round 2 Wallace! Double team Red Gyarados!"_

_Milotic got into a defensive position, biding its time, as Red Gyarados' eyes glowed. Suddenly there were __**50**__ Red Gyarados' spinning around the sky, all aimed at Milotic. Wallace's eyes widened. Seriously though, who would have ever expected this? Not only did Lance reveal a new move, but he also showed his mastery in the art of pokemon training by showcasing his pokemon's ability to produce 50 clones at once! It was over. There was no way Milotic would be able to dodge 50 vicious attacks at once._

_"Milotic return."_

_At least it had been one hell of a battle. _

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The end had come. The stadium was packed and everyone was waiting for the ceremony to start. Misty tried looking for Gary, but knew that he was in a totally different area then herself. Apparently noon had finally arrived because she heard a massive applause and the announcer starter talking. She was really starting to hate his damned voice. Before she knew it the music had started and the closing ceremony was underway.

Solrock and Lunatone floated onto the stage (the battlezone is the stage) in curvy patterns as Nosepass followed trying to catch them. It was really cute and the music displayed the same cuteness. Tate, Liza and Roxanne entered then to applause and ran over to their pokemon and waved to the crowds.

The music then stopped and a rumbling was heard. What was going on? Was it an earthquake? NO! Slaking came rolling out, Scyther jogging on him like those guys who walk on logs on water. Only much much faster. Norman and Bugsy were running next to their pokemon. Slaking eventually stopped, but left a big dust trail in the wake.

Three figures were slowly coming to form in the dust. A Polynesian drum song started up and three Machamp jumped out of the dust. Chuck, Bruno and Brawly came out behind their pokemon. The three men had trained together for a long time and their pokemon were in good sync. The Machamp did a funny little dance before bowing and making their way offstage.

The music changed again, signifying a change. An Indian flute song came on, like when a guy's trying to bring a snake out of a basket. The Arbok and Seviper slithered out, followed by Koga and Janine who were doing fancy ninja jumps for effect. Right behind them was Sabrina and Alakazam, who was glowing. The crowd gasped as they realized why- Alakazam was levitating Erika and Bellossom on its right and Whitney and Miltank on its left.

Right as they were leaving a double thunder attack circulated through the stadium. The crowd looked to the stage expectantly but nothing happened. Then, from the skies came Swellow and Pigeot with Raichu and Elekid on their backs, respectively. After making a fancy round of the stadium they landed on the ground, where Winona, Falkner, Lt. Surge and Wattson had snuck on when the crowd had their heads turned.

The crowd went nuts as Karen and Sidney walked out together with their dark dogs, Houndoom and Mighteyena. Their eyes glowed and the entire stadium turned dark just in time with the changing music. The crowd looked around, confused, as Sableye appeared and cast Night Shade, making the world look like a psychedelic drug trip. It was suddenly interrupted by two seemingly huge Gengars. The illusion wore off and Karen, Sidney, Phoebe, Morty and Agatha stood next to their pokemon and bowed before leaving.

In contrast to the darkness, the music changed and snow fell from the sky. An array of Ice and Aurora beams turned the stage into a winter wonderland. Through the snow the next group of pokemon were being revealed. Dewgong and Sealeo were gliding on the sides while Piloswine walked in the middle. Jynx was standing on Piloswine, blowing kisses to the crowd. A sled shot out of the shadows then- Lorelei, Glacia and Pryce laughing while Will looked kind of indifferent.

Once they cleared out the ground shook for the second time. This time the ground imploded as Onix (Brock riding on its head) and Steelix (Jasmine riding on its head) came jumping out of the underground, creating a huge rock river. Flannery and Blaine entered, riding on Ninetails and Rapidash as they ran around the stadium blowing off fire attacks in pretty patterns, also melting the slippery ice so that no one would accidentaly slip. The music changed again, meaning the next phase was up.

A Twister attack was the first thing anyone saw. It blew away the rocks that Onix and Steelix created and left the stage a smooth surface. Clair, ever the show off, and Kingdra leapt into the public eye and fired off a Hydro Pump. By the time they landed the crater had been filled and a new pool was created. Kingdra landed gracefully with Clair landing on the ground next to it. Misty gulped backstage, knowing that the grand finale was next.

Misty boarded her Gyarados and, together with Juan and Wallace, rode forward on the new water river. It must have been quite a scene for the crowd. Wallace was in the middle, riding on his Milotic while she was on Gyarados to the right and Juan was on Dragonair to Wallace's right. They all waved to the crowds as their pokemon moved forward. There was a swooshing noise and she lifted her head up, knowing what was coming.

"And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the winner of our tournament! Champion of Kanto and Johto, LANCE!"

Three dragons came shooting out of the sky in a triangular formation. Misty laughed at Gary's choice of pokemon. He was supposed to be on Aerodactyl, but it didn't really surprise her to see him riding on the back of Latias instead. He was in the back with Drake and Salamence. Naturally, leading the pack was Lance, who rode on Dragonite with a smile on his handsome face. They circled the arena before doing a couple of aerial tricks to get the attention of the crowd.

While they were distracted the rest of the competitors and their pokemon came back on stage. The dragons landed and the three men joined their fellow elite trainers as the pokemon stepped back to let their trainers have the spotlight. As they all waved to the spectators it all seemed good. Then came the net. Everyone started yelling at once as the pokemon were being whisked away by a mysterious force. Misty had a hunch, but when a Meowth balloon appeared she was positive.

"Ahahaha! To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!

"To extend our reach to the stars above"

"Jesse!"

"James!"

"Team rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Moewth that's right!"

"WOB!"

Team rocket, why was she not surprised? They laughed with glee and started to fly off on their balloon. Misty had to hand it to them, though. Managing to pull off a heist of this proportion had to have taken some intense planning; there was only one problem- did they honestly think that they only had one pokemon apiece? Everyone unleashed their pokemon, severely pissed off. This was not the group to mess with. Misty assumed that was what Team Rocket was thinking as 20 different attacks flew at them. The balloon burst and the pokemon landed safely back on the ground.

"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTIN' OFF AGAAAAIN!"

Misty laughed at the irony of it. She went to this tournament with a promise to change and become a new person, just for it to end with a (literal) blast from the past. It was just too funny.

She felt Gary come closer and sling an arm over her shoulder. She smiled at him as the crowd continued to cheer. As she saw Flannery and Brawly smiling and waving she realized that a new day really had dawned. She was ready to live her own life to the fullest and stop regretting. She turned her head and saw Brock also smiling and waving and realized that she had been wrong. She didn't need to leave her past behind to pave a new future. She just needed to accept and come to terms with it. She spared a look at Ash and found him looking back; she gave him a small smile, hopefully putting them on a path to forgiveness. She looked away and shook her head. There would be time for ruminating later, this was the end. After the applause finally died it would be a race to leave the Indigo Plateau. She smiled and went back to soaking in the cheers from the crowd.

After all, it was her time to shine.


	16. Chapter 16

Go Satoshi Tajiri. He's rich and I'm not. I own squat.

Author's Note: I don't want to write this. If I finish this epilogue then it means that this story is over. Strange indeed. As for the song titles, I just thought that it was interesting. I didn't mean to name every chapter after a song but it kind of happened. It was a mixture of whatever I was listening to and incorporating it with the storyline. Just a bit of trivia for you!

CHAPTER SONG TITLES:

Chapter 1 - Lost Heaven by L'Arc-en-Ciel

Chapter 2 - Genesis of Next by GLOBE

Chapter 3 - Fairytales Tell Tales by Cursive

Chapter 4 - As the World Falls Down by David Bowie

Chapter 5 - All the Small Things by Blink 182

Chapter 6 - Dive Into Blue by L'Arc-en-Ciel

Chapter 7 - Devil's Dance by Metallica

Chapter 8 - Evolution by Ayumi Hamasaki

Chapter 9 - Nothing Else Matters by Metallica

Chapter 10 - Ready, Steady, Go! by L'Arc-en-Ciel

Chapter 11 - Breaking the Girl by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Chapter 12 - Take On Me by Aha!

Chapter 13 - Fairytale Confusion by Maru of Portalenz

Chapter 14 - Hero of the Day by Metallica

Chapter 15 - Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi

Before we get rolling I want to thank everyone who has gone through this journey with me (in order of when I got your first review, heh):

Beware of Dark Lugia, sailormarsfire93, Alyssa, Baby Doll Gone Wrong, Tomoyo Kinomoto, -Rhii-, ltlbabeangel, HeartAngel, ..., moonlightdream17, SwordPrincess, and midnightgaze87!

I'd also like to give a special holler to **SwordPrincess**! You joined the story late into the game, but your reviews were insightful as hell (I'm still convinced you're reading my mind at times)! And just to clear it up, I LOVED reading all of your ramblings. Way I figure, we all ramble from time to time; if your rambles actually make a little bit of sense then you're doing just fine!

This is it everyone, the end!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to Shine

Epilogue

I'll Be Your Love

----------

Misty floated in the Cerulean City Gym's pool, eyes to the ceiling. It all seemed so long ago. The tournament had come to a close 6 months ago and life had regained normalcy. It was odd at first, but life had steadily fallen back into a routine. Was it all a dream, she wondered? She rolled and swam underwater for a bit, clearing her head. Of course it wasn't a dream! She knew that she was being an emotional fool and was briefly reminded of her behavior before the tournament (or chapter 1). She knew the reason of her sudden sadness, too.

_The Legendary PokePedia, Volume I_ had become a bestseller. Researchers and regular people alike were all interested in what Gary had to say and he delivered with a fun to read style and lots of pictures. Due to its success Gary had gotten bumped up to Professor status and there was a formal dinner party held in Pallet. It was 2 months ago and also the last time she had seen Gary.

Well, that wasn't really true. He called her most nights, so she saw him on the vidphone. That had really been enough- the two of them could sit and talk for hours on end. But seeing him at the dinner had been something else: he snuck her up to his bedroom and she had learned exactly how much he had missed her. She grinned thinking about it, they had come back out to Old Professor Oak (since there were two Professor Oaks now) giving them a frustrated look. The grin turned into a hearty laugh when she remembered the Professor's face.

She hadn't heard from Gary in 3 days.

It was odd. Even if he was really busy- like being hounded by press, having a book signing and an interview all in the same day- he always found a way to reach her, even if it was just a 5 minute call. She had no way to reach him. Early on the press had gotten hold of Gary's cell number and released it. Then he had gotten another one and the same thing happened. He didn't bother buying a third. She missed him, point blank.

"Misty lunch is almost ready!" Daisy called.

"Ok!"

Her sisters spent more time at the gym. They reopened their water show. They performed on weekday nights, mornings were for gym battles and weekends were free time. On the side Misty had been teaching Daisy to be a proficient water trainer. Her sister still wasn't _good_, but she sure as hell was good enough considering that most of their opponents were total noobs. She could tell that Daisy was proud of her progress- she told Brawly about it all the time on the vidphone and even chose to battle on some days.

It was cute: Brawly had charmed her sister. They weren't "officially dating" or anything fancy, but there were telltale signs. Brawly called Daisy almost as often as Gary called her, Daisy blushed whenever Brawly was mentioned, the usual things. There was a long distance problem, but Misty really hoped that they made it work. They were just so cute!

She hopped out of the pool and took a quick shower. She did a little headbanging to get the excess moisture out of her hair before putting it into two little braids. She went to her room and threw on her shorts and a loose fitting red tunic with yellow yin yangs on it. Taoism had always fascinated Misty. It all seemed so fluid and ever changing, like water. Her musings were cut short as she stumbled on her way to the kitchen. She knew exactly who the culprits were; the two of them were practically inseparable.

"Vaporeon, Glaceon watch where you're going!"

Yup, she had figured out the mystery of the rock fragment. Vaporeon had been playing with one of the two Eevees left and Misty remembered Lorelei's present. She brought it out and held it to Vaporeon. Nothing happened. But, lo and behold, the Eevee started glowing! Suddenly it all made sense to Misty as Eevee became Glaceon. She wasn't able to remember an Ice Stone ever being created so she did her research. She found out about Ice Rock and, after a quick call to Lorelei, confirmed that her rock was indeed a fragment of the famed training spot.

But ever since Glaceon arrived the two had been double trouble. They loved pranking everyone in the house, herself included. It was all in good fun, she knew that her pokemon would never do anything seriously bad, but it was annoying to have the urge to go swimming only to discover that the pool was "mysteriously" at arctic temperatures or that when she jumped out of the pool and reached for her towel she found that it was "mysteriously" soaked. But, even if they were naughty around the house, she was happy to discover that they made an excellent team in two on two battles. It was her silver lining of sorts.

"Man, this pasta is delicious Daisy!"

"You think so? It's like a new recipe I'm trying."

"It's awesome, really. Oh, where are Violet and Lily? Weren't they here earlier?" Misty asked.

"Hahaha, they're upstairs getting ready. It's a little late for like pajamarama or something."

"Oh."

She went back to the delicious pasta. Daisy was an awesome cook, almost as good as Brock! She thought about her favorite wannabe womanizer. He seemed happy enough and always called her when the group was at a pokemon center. It seemed that Ash was doing good and they were on their way to the League Conference. Brock sounded satisfied and happy with his life as Mr. Mom and Misty was truly happy for him. It was funny, before the tournament she wanted nothing more then to rejoin the group but now she knew better. There was no way she could be content with traveling the world just for Ash and May's dreams.

Speaking of Ash, due to some "persuasion" from Brock the two of them were putting the pieces back together. She still wouldn't put herself alone with him, but they were at least able to talk. On occasion they even had those arguments that came so naturally to them. She knew that it hurt May and had tried asking Ash about her once. And contrary to her earlier beliefs he had revealed that he wouldn't dare make a move on a kid, no matter how much older she chose to dress. He even mentioned splitting from her once the Regionals were over. Ouch, poor May.

"So, what's the deal with Flannery? She hasn't called in like forEVER!" Daisy asked.

"Well, she's been busy. She calls, but it's usually at night after most have gone to bed."

It was true! Post tournament Flannery had become popular with the opposite sex. She was by no means as famous as herself (Misty still like to deny her celebrity, but it was kind of hard) but there was one thing that made Flannery more appealing- she was single. Guys started flocking to tiny Lavaridge Town just for the sole purpose of asking Flannery on a date! She knew that Flannery was loving it ("I get free expensive dinners every night of the damn week!") without loving it _too_ much ("Man you should see their depressed faces when I tell them that their cucumbers are staying chilled!"). While her friend was out on dates fairly often she always made sure to call, even if it was in the middle of the morning.

"Misty, you made PokeTeen again!" Lily called out in a sing song voice.

"Yeah, like it says here that Gary was seen happily chatting with Erika in Celadon City this morning. It goes on to say that your rep had no comment." Violet read.

"What?" Misty asked, annoyed.

"I'm sorry, Misty. That Erika is a total slut, I've heard that she's..." Lily started.

"No not that. I don't have a fuckin' rep! Why are people saying they're my people when I don't have people?" Misty cried out.

The Sensational Sisters shrugged and Lily and Violet helped themselves to pasta. A chuckling from the doorway caused all four sisters to turn their heads in surprise. Who the fuck had snuck in?

"As if I'd give Erika the time of day, HA!"

A smile broke out onto Misty's face, no way!

"And you! I've never heard the word people so raped in one sentence!"

She got up and ran over to him, laughing.

"Shut up and give me a hug!"

She didn't know how or why, she just knew that she was happy. She assumed that Gary had waltzed on in and saw that no one was around and decided to, technically, trespass and raid the part of the gym that was closed to the public. She laughed as he hugged her and gave her sloppy, gross kisses all over her face. They broke apart and he presented her with a red rose. She blushed and accepted it, putting two and two together about his real reasons for being in Celadon with Erika. She saw him grin and walk over to her sisters who were now standing.

"Don't think I forgot about the saucy, sensual, sensational sisters!"

He brought out three pink roses and gave one to each sister, kissing their hands along the way. Misty rolled her eyes as her sisters became blushing mushpiles at his feet. Sure, he was laying the charm on thick but geez, they fell hook, line, sinker. He looked over at her and winked and she laughed. He really enjoyed doing this to innocent women, she didn't know if it was cute or cruel! She took her seat back at the table and eventually everyone else took a seat as well.

"Hey, I'll get to the point. I had to shake the press to get here and don't have long until they find me."

"So that's why you didn't call." Gary nodded.

"I'm heading to the new Sinnoh region. They don't really know me there and I've heard about a whole bunch of new legendaries to study. I want to release _PokePedia Volume II_, but that won't happen if I keep strutting around here."

"When are you going?" She asked, fearing the answer.

He looked into her eyes then and she found that she couldn't away.

"I'm taking a train out of here at midnight. I want to know if you'll go with me."

She inhaled sharply. She couldn't have heard him right; he really wanted to travel with her? To bring her on his legendary pokemon scavenger hunt? She knew that he was accustomed to traveling alone and it meant the world to her to be invited, but she couldn't. Even if he wasn't too famous in Sinnoh there would still be photographers waiting at hotels. Then there was the whole problem of the gym being left behind. AND the fact that she would be on a journey for someone else's dream! AGAIN!

"I don't want that glamour lifestyle. If you remember right, I traveled through Kanto, Johto and Hoenn all on my own. Sinnoh will be no different."

Whoops, had she said that last part aloud?

"And as for following my dream. Well yeah, we would. But that's no reason for us to not follow yours as well! There's a bunch of newly discovered water pokemon in Sinnoh and you meet tons of trainers on the road to battle. There's no reason that both of us can't follow our hearts!"

"Gary, but what about the gym?" She asked.

"Like, what about it? You said it yourself, I can totally handle myself!"

"Daisy..." Misty looked to her sister, not knowing what to say.

"Misty, go. I'll battle the babies for ya. I won't let the gym like... sink. But I want you to go, you deserve it 100 percent Misty." Misty teared up.

"Thank you Daisy."

"So, you coming with me or not?" Gary grinned.

"Whoo! We're going to Sinnoh!" Misty shouted with her fist pumped in the air.

The rest of the day was a breeze. Misty made sure she ran Daisy through the ropes for proper gym leadership and made sure she left behind more then enough pokemon. She kept Gyarados with her and also decided to bring along Glaceon and Vaporeon. They had hit it off amazingly well with Gary's Umbreon and Misty worried that they might end up as a triple threat if she wasn't careful. And then there was Phione. Her baby was growing up before her eyes- it even stayed in a pokeball now- and there was no way she would leave it behind!

Although Daisy made the big sacrifice to let Misty go, her other sisters also wanted to do something nice for her too.

Violet went into town during the day and came back with a cell phone. Misty had to hand it to her, her sister had done good. It was a cerulean and black zebra striped flip-phone. Misty was never one for rhinestones, but she couldn't help but love the amount of detailing Violet had put into it. It was nothing extravagant, just silver rhinestones on the front that were shaped like the Cascadebadge. Violet didn't give her a chance for thanks, just said that she expected a nice birthday present in return.

Lily's present was much more practical. Yellow had always been her favorite color and it seemed that Lily remembered. She was looking at a yellow plaid backpack with lots of zippers, actually most of the zippers were just for show. It was a cute bag, though, no two ways around that. And it was actually big enough to carry more than her old one, but still small enough to not be bulky. Along with the bag was a matching yellow plaid belt with room for her pokeballs. She knew that she'd definitely be putting both of them to good use.

"Are you ready to go Misty?" Gary yelled.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" She replied.

She came down the stairs ready to leave. It was about 11:30 and it was a 10 minute car ride to the train station, but it was best to leave early just in case. She kept her hair in the two braids after deciding that she liked the look. Her outfit was simple enough; she had a regular pair of low rise flares that she'd had for a year or so that were broken in and comfortable as hell- perfect traveling jeans. To complement the jeans she had raided Gary's bag and stole his purple shirt that was a little big on her; she hiked it up and tied the side, leaving her tummy exposed. Top it off with her black and blue hat and it was a cozy outfit indeed.

After a tearful goodbye the pair made it to the train station. Naturally, Gary had an entire cabin booked for the 3 night long train ride. The Oaks sure knew how to travel in style! The room came fully equipped with a full window, couch, bathroom and double bed. She raised an eyebrow at the bed and Gary shrugged innocently, oh bullshit.

"You know, I thought about you everyday." Gary purred, coming towards her.

"Oh yeah, well I was out on hot dates." She joked.

It seemed as if Gary wasn't in the mood for joking. He pulled her onto the bed with him and kissed her tenderly. She felt him nibbling on her bottom lip and snorted, opening her mouth to his waiting tongue. She threw her leg around his torso and pulled, bringing him closer. With her hand she caressed his cheek lovingly, wanting him to know that this was so much more than loveless passion. Over the last 6 months her feeling had only intensified and she was finally able to come to grips with the truth.

She loved him. Nothing less and nothing more. She had no idea when it had happened; truth be told she was hoping that it wouldn't happen so soon. Unfortunately, life had other plans and here she was, making out with a guy she was head over heels for. It could definitely be worse. She sighed and gave into him completely, not unlike the last night at the Indigo Plateau or their secret moment during Gary's promotion dinner. Confessions could wait, there were other things afoot.

"So Professor, are we having fun yet?" She asked huskily.

"Oh yeah, let these good times roll on, Darlin'." He threw his head back and sighed.

Those good times would roll on and on forever if she had her way. The way he made her feel, physically and emotionally, was like none other. Before losing herself to desire completely she made a promise to herself. A promise that she knew she would keep if she had to get drunk as a skunk to do it. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that, though. A promise that was sincere and true. She had to just throw caution to the wind and be spontaneous, not taking time to look back and think about it until later. Much later. She promised to tell him how she felt, how much she loved him. And who knows? Maybe, if she was lucky enough, he might just say it back.

The train finally started to move then, leaving Cerulean behind for Sinnoh and whatever adventures awaited for herself and Gary... she couldn't wait.


	17. NOTE FROM THE AUTHORESS

**CALLING ALL READERS!!**

**So I haven't written in a while and TOTALLY feel like getting some work done…but I'm way too indecisive for my own good. I have a bunch of ideas for all of my stories and want to know where to start. If you have a certain story you'd like me to update than I ask that you please go to my page and participate in my poll. Cast your vote for which story I should get to work on!**

**The poll will close on Valentines Day.**

**THANK YOU ALL FOR READING MY FICS!**

**~A Nobody**


End file.
